By adjusting rent thresholds and shrinking landlord exemptions, more than a dozen municipalities have adopted stronger versions of a state law that protects tenants from high rent increases and unreasonable evictions.
More than a dozen upstate New York municipalities are strengthening tenant protections by opting into—and improving—the state’s Good Cause Eviction Law. By lowering rent thresholds and narrowing landlord exemptions, cities like Albany and Newburgh are expanding protections against unreasonable rent hikes and unjust evictions.
This Shelterforce article examines how local organizers pushed for stronger versions of the law, how public education has become essential to enforcement, and why advocates say good cause is an important step—but not a substitute for rent stabilization. The piece highlights the growing role of municipal action in shaping tenant protections beyond New York City.
Read the full story: More Upstate Towns Opt in to—and Toughen—New York’s Good Cause Eviction Law
32 years after it was banned, could Massachusetts get rent control back?
In Massachusetts, the collection of more than 124,000 signatures makes it likely that a statewide rent control measure will be on the ballot in November.
After a Six-Year Struggle, Tenants in Boston’s Mattapan Neighborhood Win Permanent Affordability
When a new owner imposed sharp rent hikes in 2018, tenants organized and fought back. Now, more than 300 housing units will be affordable for the foreseeable future. Here’s how the tenants made it happen.
Missouri Tenants Sue Housing Owners Over Tax Credit Program
In Springfield, Missouri, organized tenants have filed a lawsuit against the past and present owners of their tax credit–financed properties, claiming that in exercising an opt-out provision they violated both state and federal requirements.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Move over, LA: St. Louis gears up for Olympics, invests millions in downtown redevelopment
The Missouri city will host the 2028 Olympic soccer group stage and knockout matches.
Dallas releases zoning code overhaul to officials
The drafted overhaul is over 400 pages long.
NYC renovations for dangerous, ‘mercilessly crammed’ street delayed until 2027
Construction was supposed to begin this fall.
San Diego’s Midway Rising project gets greenlight from city council
The project looks to become the largest affordable housing development in California's history.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello