Housing advocates want New York state to expand its law ensuring tenant protections to renters.
Rachel Reilly, of the Hinckle United Tenants Union, has been renting her whole adult life. The Albany resident said that while her wages have increased steadily over the years, the cost of her rent has outpaced the growth of her income.
"I don't know when my wages is going to be going up next," she said. "So, you know, rent is ultimately taking up more and more of my income, and I need that income. I need that income for the rising cost of living, and I also need it for savings in my future."
Reilly is among advocates pushing the state Legislature to pass the Rent Emergency Stabilization Act.
As part of an effort to expand rent regulation to more upstate communities, the bill would allow localities to consider new factors such as local eviction rates, demand on homeless shelters, and other circumstances before declaring a housing emergency under the state's Emergency Tenant Protection Act.
