As state leaders prepare to spar with Gov. Kathy Hochul over a housing package during budget talks, lawmakers Monday said they are considering how to amend controversial legislation to make it more difficult to evict a tenant in New York to ensure the policy is included in the final deal.

As budget talks started in earnest Monday in Albany, legislative leaders first started work on the easiest fiscal pieces. Larger issues and more tense discussions will begin next week closer to the April 1 deadline, and lawmakers have started to prepare for a long debate about tenant protections and the need for Good Cause Eviction legislation.

"This bill is already good policy, however, we know that in Albany, it is always necessary for us to negotiate in order to get the best possible policy," Senate sponsor Julia Salazar told Spectrum News 1 on Monday. "And I think that we have the opportunity and the responsibility to do that with Good Cause just like anything else."

The bill prohibits landlords from hiking rent more than 3%, or 1.5% of the Consumer Price Index. Property owners would be required to request and show evidence for needing a greater increase, such as higher utilities or maintenance costs.

The measure would also further limit the legal reasons for eviction, or require a "good cause" – something Hochul has said is not necessary because of New York's existing strong legal protections for tenants.

Salazar said she's open to discussion about the percentage for capped rent increases, or potentially exempting new construction from the policy for a temporary period.

"We can't afford to wait longer for Good Cause Eviction protections," Salazar said. "I understand that in order to get a housing deal, we're going to need to compromise on things. ... Some of the things we're going to be less comfortable with, but some of them are absolutely necessary, and that includes Good Cause."

Lawmakers said Monday they will negotiate the details of Good Cause and will not accept a housing deal without the measure. Similar legislative stubbornness on the need for tenant protections led to a breakdown between the Legislature and Gov. Hochul on housing that was never resolved.

Housing negotiations in the budget will not start for several days, but leading Democratic lawmakers Monday did not wait to make their position clear – rallying in the Capitol that they will stand their ground.

"There will be no comprehensive housing program without Good Cause Eviction protections being built into it," Senate Deputy Majority Leader Mike Gianaris said Monday.

Both houses of the Legislature included Good Cause in their budget proposals, but included vague language to keep all parts of the legislation on the table during negotiations.

Progressive lawmakers have intensified their fight for the proposal in the wake of increased evictions after COVID-19-era moratoria expired. 

Assembly Housing Committee chair Linda Rosenthal rejects another potential change to the bill, such as allowing localities outside New York City to opt out of the policy. Salazar also stands against the proposal.

"If you live in New York City, you will have protections, [but] if you live in Buffalo, you won't?" Rosenthal said. "I mean, we're one state, and tenants live across the state, and we want to make sure nobody is subject to capricious evictions."

Lawmakers back Gov. Hochul's focus on increasing housing supply, but say that will not solve the state's housing issue alone.

Monday's demonstration by lawmakers pushing Good Cause comes amid mounting pushback to the policy from small landlords and property owners. Labor and construction unions have come out in support of the proposal.

Ann Korchak, board president of Small Property Owners of New York, said the policy would make the state unaffordable for small landlords – and they should not be forced to shoulder the state's affordability gap.

"Caps on rents don't allow owners to keep up their properties," Korchak said. "There is no cap on expenses. New York, no matter where you are – upstate, downstate – it's a heavily tax burdened state and property taxes are fueling municipal governments all over the state. And to fuel those municipal governments, property taxes keep rising. Rents need to rise to cover expenses such as that."

Korchak argues property owners would need time to go to housing court and pay for attorney fees to apply for a greater rent increase beyond 3%, and she questions the impact on the state court system.

"We do not have the court capacity to adjudicate every lease renewal in the state," she said. "It's just not possible. Leases are contracts. They have a beginning date and an end date. The parties should be able to agree on what the increase is going to be."

Lawmakers argued property owners stand against the bill because they want to evade additional oversight, and their concerns about the proposal are rooted in misinformation.

"Both houses ultimately failed to pass a comprehensive housing deal last year," Salazar said. "It's even more urgent that we do it this year, and that includes Good Cause. The permutations of what that are is still to be determined."

If the bill becomes law, New York would join a handful of U.S. states with similar policy, including New Jersey, California, Oregon and Washington.