QN St. Albans Holdings LLC v. Sands, 2024 NY Slip Op 24252 (2024)

ANALYSISNew York's Good Cause Eviction Law (GCEL) was enacted on April 20, 2024 (L 2024, ch 56, part HH). The statute imposes several new notice provisions obligating landlords to state if housing accommodations are subject to Good Cause in lease offers and pre-eviction notices (id. at §§ 2-5). While these notice requirements were not phased in until August 18, 2024, one hundred twenty days after the effective date of the statute (L 2024, ch 56, part HH, § 7(a)), the remaining portions of GCEL "take effect immediately and shall apply to actions and proceedings commenced on or after such effective date [April 20, 2024]" (L 2024, ch 56, part HH, § 7). This includes § 1 of GCEL, which adds Article 6-A to the Real Property Law (RPL) and provides that a GCEL-covered tenant can only be removed from possession based on one of the Good Cause grounds enumerated in RPL 216(1)(a)-(j). Thus, for any eviction proceeding commenced on or after April 20, 2024, a petitioner must plead if the housing accommodation is subject to GCEL (see RPAPL 741), and in the case of covered units it must demonstrate a Good Cause ground for removal (see RPL 216).