Vidal is one of thousands of tenants in New York and countless others around the US who are currently experiencing drastic rent increases—a trend that has been decades in the making but, combined with an inflation squeeze and systemic shortage of affordable housing, is causing havoc for renters. These rent hikes are effectively serving as evictions by landlords who know full well that tenants will likely have to move as a result, enabling the landlords to rent out units to new tenants at greater rates.

This displacement crisis drove the push for Good Cause Eviction legislation in New York, which would have capped annual rent increases at 3 percent, or 1.5 percent of the annual percent change in the Consumer Price Index. The legislation would also have protected tenants from landlords who refuse to renew leases, except in cases of lease violations. The bill would have impacted an estimated 1.6 million households in New York and had overwhelming support from the public, according to polls conducted on the bill. Protesters were arrested in late May at the New York State Capitol during a demonstration to push for legislators to support and pass the legislation.

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