NY State Senate: Democrats Propose 'Mitchell-Lama 2.0' With 421-a Reboot + 'Good Cause' Landlord-Tenant Changes

“To address a growing housing crisis, leaders in New York’s State Senate are set to propose sweeping legislation on Monday that would encourage new construction, establish new tenant protections, and also revive some older ideas for building affordable housing. Among them: the creation of a new public benefit corporation that would finance housing construction on state-owned land. Leaders are framing it as a successor to the popular midcentury program known as Mitchell-Lama,"  reported The New York Times.

"It would revive a successful 70-year-old affordable housing building program known as  Mitchell-Lama, named after two lawmakers who helped create it. Under the program, developers were given long-term tax breaks and low mortgage rates to build affordable housing on abandoned properties. But after 20 years, owners of the properties could opt out of the system, and in some cases, eventually charge market rates. As a result, the original Mitchell-Lama units have declined significantly in recent decades,"  reported NPR. "Kavanagh said the Senate program — dubbed Mitchell-Lama 2.0 — would be permanent."

"The Senate plan will call for a new developer tax break with more robust affordability protections than its predecessor, known as  421a, which expired in 2022," but "one crucial element for enticing the left wing of the party is the inclusion of legislation known as ' good cause eviction,' which has long been a progressive priority,"  summarized The NY Times. "Senate leaders say a housing package must include some version of this legislation, which restricts landlords’ ability to evict tenants. It also requires most landlords to offer tenants automatic lease renewals and forces them to justify rent hikes of more than 3 percent."