Rochester Good Cause Eviction rules apply to almost every apartment in the city because the City Council opted into New York’s Good Cause Eviction law in December 2024 and chose the strictest version, cutting the small-landlord exemption to owners of a single unit. In practice, that means most Rochester owners need a legally recognized reason to evict or decline to renew a tenant, and rent increases above a set benchmark, about 8.15% for 2026, are presumed unreasonable.
Good Cause sits on top of a set of statewide rules from the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act and the city’s own inspection and lead paint requirements. This guide explains each layer, with links to the state statutes, the state housing agency and the city’s own documents.
Why Rochester’s rules matter to so many owners
Rochester is a majority-renter city. The Census Bureau’s QuickFacts profile for Rochester puts the owner-occupied rate at 38.1% for 2020 to 2024, so about 62% of households rent. The city’s own 2024 release on Good Cause put the share of residents who rent at 64%. Rochester’s population was estimated at 206,108 in 2025, and median gross rent was $1,081 in the 2020 to 2024 survey.
With that many renters, tenant protection is a major local issue. A March 2026 City Council resolution stated that more than 27,000 Rochester households faced eviction filings from January 2020 through December 2025. Owners should expect these rules to stay in the spotlight at City Hall.
How Rochester opted into Good Cause Eviction
New York’s Good Cause Eviction law, Article 6-A of the Real Property Law, was signed on April 20, 2024. It applies automatically in New York City, but other cities, towns and villages must opt in by local law.
According to the City of Rochester’s December 17, 2024 announcement, the City Council voted 7 to 2 that night to adopt the law, making Rochester the largest municipality outside New York City to opt in. The council chose the most protective option the state law allowed, reducing the small-landlord exemption from 10 units to one. Council members Harris and Patterson cast the two votes against. The same night, the council created a task force, an education campaign and a study of the law’s effects.
The law remains in force. The state housing agency’s August 2026 Good Cause Eviction notice, which lists participating municipalities as of May 4, 2026, includes Rochester and defines a small landlord there as one who owns no more than one unit anywhere in New York State.
What Good Cause requires of Rochester landlords
Good Cause Eviction limits a landlord’s ability to remove a tenant or refuse to renew a lease without a reason the law recognizes. It also sets a benchmark for rent increases.
The rent increase benchmark
Under the state’s Good Cause Eviction overview, a rent increase above the lesser of 10% or 5% plus the annual change in the consumer price index is presumptively unreasonable. Monroe County uses the Northeast regional index, which the state agency reports rose 3.15% from 2024 to 2025. That puts Rochester’s local rent standard for 2026 at 5% plus 3.15%, or 8.15%.
“Presumptively unreasonable” does not mean an increase above 8.15% is banned outright. If a tenant challenges a higher increase, the landlord can try to justify it with documented cost increases, such as higher property taxes or significant repairs. But owners should treat the benchmark as the practical ceiling for routine renewals.
A renewal example
Take a unit renting at $1,081, Rochester’s median gross rent in the latest Census survey. An 8.15% increase would raise the rent by about $88, to roughly $1,169 a month. Anything above that would be presumed unreasonable if the tenant challenged it.
The benchmark also interacts with the state notice rules covered below. Any increase of 5% or more triggers the 30-, 60- or 90-day notice requirement in Section 226-c, so an increase between 5% and 8.15% is allowed under Good Cause but still needs the full advance notice. For a tenant who has lived in the unit for more than two years, that means planning a renewal at least 90 days ahead.
Units outside the law
Not every unit is covered. The state agency and the New York Attorney General’s Good Cause guide list several exemptions, including:
- Newer buildings: Units in buildings with a certificate of occupancy issued on or after January 1, 2009. Because the exemption turns on the date of the certificate, it covers recent construction, not older buildings.
- Regulated units: Units already subject to rent regulation or income restrictions.
- Condominiums and cooperatives.
- High-rent units: Units whose rent exceeds 245% of fair market rent. For Monroe County, based on HUD’s fiscal year 2025 fair market rents, that threshold is $2,734 for an efficiency, $3,077 for a one-bedroom, $3,854 for a two-bedroom, $4,643 for a three-bedroom and $5,103 for a four-bedroom unit.
- Small landlords: In Rochester, only owners of a single unit anywhere in the state.
Exemptions for owner-occupied buildings are described differently in different sources, so owners who live in their buildings should check the exact text of Rochester’s local law before relying on one.
Given Rochester’s median gross rent of $1,081, very few apartments approach the high-rent exemption. For most owners of older apartment buildings in the city, the law applies.
Required notices
Every lease, renewal and legal notice for a covered unit must include the state’s Good Cause notice. Since August 18, 2024, the notice required for rent increases and non-renewals under Real Property Law Section 226-c must also include it.
Statewide tenant protections that apply in Rochester
The 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act set rules that apply to Rochester landlords regardless of Good Cause.
Security deposits
Under General Obligations Law Section 7-108:
- A deposit or advance cannot exceed one month’s rent.
- After a tenant signs the lease, the landlord must offer a joint inspection and a written agreement on the unit’s condition.
- Within 14 days after the tenant moves out, the landlord must provide an itemized statement of any deductions and return the rest of the deposit.
- A landlord who misses the 14-day deadline forfeits the right to keep any part of the deposit, and the landlord carries the burden of proving deductions were reasonable.
- A willful violation can lead to punitive damages of up to twice the deposit.
Late fees and application fees
Real Property Law Section 238-a bars late fees until rent is at least five days late and caps the fee at $50 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is less. Application fees are prohibited. Fees for background and credit checks are limited to the actual cost or $20, whichever is less.
Notice of rent increases and non-renewals
Real Property Law Section 226-c requires advance written notice when a landlord plans to raise rent by 5% or more or not renew a lease:
- 30 days for a tenant who has lived in the unit less than one year and has no lease of at least one year.
- 60 days for a tenant with one to two years of occupancy or a lease of at least one year but less than two.
- 90 days for a tenant with two or more years of occupancy or a lease of at least two years.
If the landlord gives late notice, the tenancy continues under the existing terms until the required notice period has run.
Source of income
Since April 12, 2019, New York’s Human Rights Law has barred discrimination based on lawful source of income. The Attorney General’s office says that includes public assistance, housing vouchers such as Section 8, Supplemental Security Income, Social Security, child support, alimony and foster care payments. Rochester landlords cannot refuse a qualified applicant because part of the rent comes from a voucher.
Rochester’s own requirements: inspections and lead paint
Beyond state law, Rochester requires rental properties to hold a certificate of occupancy and pass periodic inspections. These requirements are in Chapter 90 of the city code.
Lead paint inspections
Rochester’s lead-based paint ordinance, Article III of Chapter 90, was adopted on December 20, 2005 and took effect in July 2006. The city code’s lead paint provisions require a visual inspection for deteriorated paint and bare soil as part of every certificate of occupancy inspection or renewal. In the city’s designated high-risk area, owners must also obtain certified dust-wipe test results within 60 days. Section 90-55 was most recently amended on April 21, 2026, by Ordinance 2026-81, so owners who last read the rules several years ago should review the current text.
Certificate of occupancy renewals
The city has published changes to its inspection and lead paint requirements for 2026, including new deadlines for some smaller rental properties. Owners should confirm their own renewal schedule with the city’s Neighborhood and Business Development department.
Rent stabilization, eviction court and tenant counsel
No local rent stabilization
Rochester has not adopted the Emergency Tenant Protection Act, the state law that allows municipalities to impose rent stabilization. To opt in, a city must find a vacancy rate of 5% or less in pre-1974 buildings with six or more units. The city’s 2021 rental vacancy study concluded that Rochester did not qualify. Good Cause Eviction is therefore the main local limit on rent increases.
Eviction cases
Eviction cases are heard in Rochester City Court. The Rochester Housing Court Act of 2021 created a housing part of that court for serious code cases and complex landlord-tenant matters.
Tenant legal representation
Rochester’s right-to-counsel effort is a funded program, not a local law. It began on August 25, 2020 as a pilot run by legal aid organizations with $460,000 in federal pandemic relief funds. In March 2026, the City Council passed a resolution urging the state to adopt a statewide right to counsel. Owners should expect that some tenants in eviction cases will have legal representation.
What Rochester Good Cause Eviction means for owners
The combined effect of these rules changes how Rochester buildings are operated and valued. A practical checklist:
- Plan renewals around the benchmark. Set routine increases at or below the local rent standard and keep records of cost increases if a larger increase is needed.
- Update every lease and notice. Confirm that the Good Cause notice is attached to every lease, renewal and Section 226-c notice.
- Tighten deposit procedures. Offer the move-in inspection, document the unit’s condition and calendar the 14-day return deadline at move-out.
- Keep certificates current. Track certificate of occupancy and lead paint deadlines for every building.
- Screen fairly. Apply the same criteria to every applicant and accept lawful income sources, including vouchers.
- Underwrite realistically. Buyers will base offers on in-place rents and the local benchmark, not on market rents that would require turnover to reach.
Owners weighing a sale of an occupied building can read our guide to selling a rental property with tenants in place, which explains how leases and tenant protections affect the process.
Where Rochester fits among New York markets
Rochester combines a large renter base with a Good Cause law that reaches nearly every rental, and when the state gave it a choice on the small-landlord exemption, the council picked the most protective option. Owners comparing Rochester with other cities in the state can start on our New York markets page, and owners thinking about a sale can learn more about selling an apartment building in Rochester on our city page.
The rules will keep changing. The state agency updates rent benchmarks and exemption thresholds each year, and the council created a task force to study the law’s effects. Checking those updates every spring, before renewal season, is the simplest way to stay compliant.
