Good Cause Eviction: what Brooklyn owners need to know

Good Cause Eviction has been law in New York City since April 2024. If you own a small building in Brooklyn, it probably changes how you handle renewals, and it definitely changes what you should put in writing.

Is your building covered?

Most market-rate apartments in the city are covered unless an exemption applies. The big ones: you own ten or fewer units total across all your properties and live in one of them (small landlord exemption); the unit is in a building of ten or fewer units where you personally occupy one; the building got its certificate of occupancy after 2009; or the rent is above the high-rent threshold (245 percent of fair market rent, which for a Brooklyn one-bedroom is roughly $6,000 and up). Rent-stabilized units already have their own rules and are not affected.

What "good cause" means in practice

If a tenant is covered, you can only decline to renew or move to evict for a listed reason: nonpayment, lease violations, nuisance, illegal use, refusing reasonable access, the owner or family moving in, or taking the unit off the market. "I'd rather have a new tenant at a higher rent" is not on the list.

The renewal increase rule

An increase above the local threshold is presumed unreasonable and a tenant can raise it as a defense. The threshold is the lower of 10 percent or CPI plus 5 percent, recalculated each year; for 2026 it sits just under 9 percent. You can go higher if you can show why (a documented capital improvement, a real jump in taxes or insurance), but the burden is yours.

What to do before your next renewal

Every lease and renewal for a covered unit now needs the state's Good Cause notice attached, and every non-renewal or increase above threshold needs a written explanation. We handle the notices on the buildings we lease. If you self-manage, get the form from the state, and if you're unsure whether you're exempt, ask before you send a number, not after.