Community Organizing

• 2021: The original Good Cause law was passed in Albany, protecting tenants from unjust evictions and capping rent increases at 5%. UTA, tenants, and Citizen Action played key roles.
• 2022: The local law was struck down by the NYS court, which argued that the State must pass such a law, and that cities cannot do so on their own. The City of Albany attempted to defend the law and UTA submitted an amicus brief in support of the City’s case, but in 2023 a higher court denied Albany’s appeal.
• 2024: UTA helped push for the statewide reintroduction of Good Cause in the NYS budget. The new version mandated NYC implement Good Cause and allows other cities to opt in. Albany was the first municipality in the state to adopt this updated version, helping set the tone for 16+ other localities.
• 2025: UTA has been working with community organizers in Schenectady to win Good Cause at the municipal level.

• 2019: UTA and Housing For All (HFA) helped pass Albany’s first IZ law, requiring affordable units in developments of 50+ units.
• 2023: The law was strengthened to require affordable units (60% AMI) in all new developments with 20+ units. UTA has continued to defend this legislation as a means of addressing the lack of dignified, affordable housing in our City.

• 1996: UTA helped establish the ROP system in Albany, which requires landlords to pass regular inspections to legally rent housing.
• 2021: UTA successfully advocated to shorten inspection cycles from 36 to 24 months and link ROPs directly to eviction proceedings.
  • Today, landlords cannot bring a non-payment eviction if the unit lacks a valid ROP.
  • Tenants should see ROP certificates posted inside their buildings and can also check status on the Citizen Self Service Portal.

• Developed through UTA advocacy and legislation sponsored by then-Common Councilmember (now Assemblymember) Gabriella Romero.
• The portal allows tenants to look up rental units and see:
  • Code violations
  • Inspection records
  • ROP status
  • Unsafe/Unfit designations
  • Stop Work Orders
• This promotes transparency and empowers tenants with information.

• 2022: UTA partnered with Legal Aid and Albany Law School to design EPIC, a program to address the massive imbalance of legal representation in eviction court (less than 3% of tenants had lawyers, while over 90% of landlords did).
• UTA helped secure:
  • $100,000 from the City of Albany
  • $160,000 from Albany County
  • $75,000 from CARES of NY
• However, in 2024, the County required that EPIC include landlord representation, which does not align with UTA’s mission. As a result, we withdrew from the application process.
• Today, Legal Aid and Alternatives2Displacement administer the program with a focus on rental assistance and non-court-based mediation.

• UTA has pushed for rent control in Albany since the 1980s. After changes to state law in 2019, cities could finally opt in under the Emergency Tenant Protection Act (ETPA).
• In 2023, UTA secured funding for a vacancy study, a required step for opting in. The City’s study, completed in October 2024, found a vacancy rate of 8.33%, above the 5% threshold.
• UTA raised concerns about the study’s timing and methodology, advocating for a new independent study using $125,000 allocated for 2025.
• Instead, the Common Council shifted that funding to support a broader “housing initiative,” and as courts continued to strike down other cities’ rent control laws, UTA’s base voted to pivot toward statewide reform and reinvest in organizing around deteriorating housing conditions.

• Launched in 2023 by friends of UTA.
• Visit AlbanyLandlord.com to search any address in the City of Albany and learn:
  • Who owns the building
  • How many evictions they’ve filed
  • Whether there’s a valid ROP
  • If any code violations or Unsafe/Unfit conditions exist
• Landlords receive a grade (A–F) based on these factors.
• This is especially useful for tenants wondering if they’re protected by Good Cause (e.g., tenants are excluded if their landlord owns only one unit in the building and lives there, unless the building has more than 10 units).

• The Housing Access Voucher Program was introduced in 2019 to supplement Section 8 in NYS and support low income tenants that are homeless, or at risk of homelessness.
• In 2023 and 2024, both the Assembly and Senate allocated funding in their One House budgets, but the final NYS budget was unable to secure the funding.
• In 2025, UTA co-led the campaign for HAVP and was able to win funding for a $200M 4-year pilot program.

• In 2024, the REST Act was introduced to make it easier for cities to opt into rent stabilization. UTA actively co-leads the campaign to win stronger tenant and rent protections.

HFA has partnered with UTA on Inclusionary Zoning, affordable development projects in Albany and Bethlehem, and the creation of the Albany County Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

UTA members are active in AJC, which originated from the campaign for Proposal 7 and the Community Police Review Board. AJC continues to support housing protections and anti-displacement efforts.

In partnership with the Poor People’s Campaign, UTA works to build power among unsheltered and unhoused tenants, fighting policies that criminalize homelessness and harm our community.

UTA is a core campaign leader in this statewide network of 80+ organizations. HJ4A’s priorities include:

• Housing Access Voucher Program: A statewide rental subsidy for tenants facing eviction, homelessness, or domestic violence.
• Expanding Rent Stabilization: Making it easier for upstate cities to opt into rent stabilization.
• Additional platform priorities:
  • Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA)
  • Social Housing Development Authority
  • Expanding Good Cause Eviction
  • Rent Freeze (NYC specific)

UTA serves on the steering committee, advocating for:

• Right to Counsel in all eviction cases statewide
• Winter Eviction Moratorium
• Clean Hands Law (prohibiting eviction if there are code violations)

UTA is part of the Renters Rights Committee, supporting national campaigns to fight corporate landlords and real estate speculation.