We( 518 Housing Advocates) are starting this petition due to the high rental cost in the Capital Region of New York.  We have received a lot of feedback and with these feedbacks, we were asked to start a petition. The people that were contacting us would explain their housing situation, these are LOW INCOME & SENIORS who cannot afford to live in Albany, NY anymore. Landlords are charging $1500 or more in rent in areas like Albany and Schenectady that have a high poverty rate(going by a market price as if New York City is close by). According to New York Community Action Association, the City of Albany is ranked as the sixth poorest among the 26 New York cities, along with Schenectady having the highest poverty rate in the State of New York. During the COVID-19 Period, landlords have been rent gouging by increasing rent that is beyond what is considered reasonable in poverty-stricken areas( As most of these apartments do not have a rental certificate and are being illegally rented without registering the apartment with the local government). Additionally, landlords have placed egregious stipulations on their apartments and offer little to no amenities that are inconsistent with NYS Housing laws (No pets, no smoking, no children, no access to storage space, no more than two people in the apt, no Section 8, no DSS, no heating system, no kitchen, must have a credit score of 600 or more, apt not available to tenants who make less than 3x the income, and no viewing the apt until one pays an application fee of $20.00 or more and still are denied to view the apartment when the application fee is paid).

We are asking the Governor, Attorney General, New York State Congress, and New York State Housing Community Renewal to implement a new law that will bring Landlords into compliance with Federal and State laws to stop these unscrupulous restrictions and adjust the rent prices accordingly to match the income ratio in most of the low-income cities in the Capital Region of New York. We strongly urge lawmakers to take a stand on this severe housing issue as many upstate residents are facing homelessness.

Sincerely,

518 Housing Advocates