Which Upstate New York cities have adopted Good Cause Eviction?

Among the four markets we cover: Rochester adopted it in December 2024 and Albany in June 2024. Syracuse rejected it on a 4–4 tied vote in April 2026, and Buffalo has not adopted it. Statewide, roughly nineteen municipalities have opted in, including Binghamton, Ithaca, Kingston, Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Beacon, Hudson, and White Plains. Troy adopted its own ordinance in spring 2026. The authoritative list is published by New York State DHCR and updated annually on or before 1 August.

Why do property taxes matter so much when selling in Upstate New York?

Because the rates are the highest in the country and because a sale can reset the assessment. Rochester's metro effective rate of 1.82% is first nationally, Buffalo's 1.73% is among the top ten, and twenty-two of the twenty-five most heavily taxed counties in the United States are in Upstate New York. A buyer who underwrites your historical tax bill may be underwriting a number that changes after closing. When that surfaces during diligence it typically produces a retrade. Modelling post-sale tax exposure in advance and pricing for it is what prevents that.

Is Upstate New York a good market to sell multifamily in right now?

It depends heavily on which city, because the regulatory position varies. Buffalo and Syracuse have no Good Cause overlay, which supports a cleaner rent-growth assumption and a higher multiple on an equivalent rent roll. Rochester and Albany are covered, and buyers price that in. Across all four, the constant is capital availability: yield-seeking out-of-state buyers and downstate 1031 capital are both active. The variable is how well your specific asset's tax and regulatory position is understood before it goes to market.

Multifamily & Industrial Investment Sales in Upstate New York

High Peaks Capital Advisors represents owners of multifamily and industrial property across Upstate New York, covering the Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo, and Albany markets from our office in Victor, New York.

Upstate New York is a yield market with a regulatory overlay that changes at every city line. The returns are real. The diligence is not optional. Two apartment buildings forty miles apart can be worth materially different multiples for reasons that never appear on a rent roll — and that gap is the single most valuable thing a seller here can understand before going to market.

Monroe County Rochester

Highest effective property tax rate in the United States. Good Cause Eviction in force inside the city.

Onondaga County Syracuse

Good Cause rejected on a tied vote. The Micron megafab, on a timeline that has moved.

Erie & Niagara Buffalo

No Good Cause overlay. Niagara County ranks second nationally for property tax burden.

Capital Region Albany

First city outside NYC to adopt Good Cause — and a broader version than Rochester's.

01 / Regulation The Good Cause Eviction map

The law is decided city by city.

New York's Good Cause Eviction law took effect in April 2024. It applies automatically in New York City. Everywhere else, each village, town, or city must pass its own local law to opt in, and roughly nineteen municipalities have done so.

The result is a patchwork with direct valuation consequences. Where the law applies, a buyer must underwrite constrained rent growth and a compliance regime; where it does not, they need not. Across the four markets we cover in Upstate New York, the position splits evenly.

Municipality	Good Cause status	Rent-exemption threshold	Small-landlord exemption
City of Rochester	Opted in	245% of fair market rent	Owners of no more than 1 unit statewide
City of Albany	Opted in	345% of fair market rent	Owners of no more than 1 unit statewide
City of Binghamton	Opted in	345% of fair market rent	Owners of no more than 1 unit statewide
City of Syracuse	Not adopted	—	—
City of Buffalo	Not adopted	—	—

Status and thresholds per the New York State Homes and Community Renewal required DHCR notice, current as of 4 May 2026. DHCR republishes the list and the underlying fair market rents annually on or before 1 August. Municipalities can opt in at any time — Troy adopted its own ordinance in spring 2026 but had not yet appeared on the published list as of that notice. Verify current status with DHCR and counsel before relying on it.

How the exemption threshold actually works

A unit is exempt from Good Cause if its rent exceeds a set percentage of the applicable HUD fair market rent. Municipalities choose that percentage, and the choice runs opposite to intuition: a higher percentage means fewer units escape the law, so the ordinance covers more of the market.

Rochester adopted the statutory default of 245%. Albany adopted 345%. Albany's ordinance therefore reaches considerably further up the rent ladder than Rochester's, notwithstanding the frequent description of Rochester's as the strongest version passed. Both cities set the small-landlord exemption at the statutory minimum of one unit anywhere in the state.

Where the law applies, a rent increase above the lower of 5% plus local CPI, or 10%, is presumed unreasonable and must be justified by documented increases in operating costs.

02 / Property tax The heaviest tax burden in the country

Reassessment is the risk nobody prices.

Upstate New York carries the highest effective property tax rates in the United States. The Rochester metropolitan area ranks first nationally at 1.82% of market value. Buffalo follows at 1.73%, and Binghamton leads the state at 2.27%. Twenty-two of the twenty-five most heavily taxed counties in the country are in Upstate New York, with Orleans first, Niagara second, and Monroe third.

The transaction consequence is reassessment on sale. A sale price becomes evidence of market value that an assessor can act on, so a buyer underwriting the seller's historical tax line may be underwriting a figure that does not survive closing. At these effective rates, a reassessment can move net operating income enough to break a deal — or, more commonly, to force a retrade weeks before closing.

Underwriting post-sale tax exposure before going to market, and pricing for it, is the difference between a clean close and a renegotiation. It is the discipline we bring to every Upstate assignment.

03 / Capital Who buys Upstate New York

Upstate metros offer higher-yield multifamily and industrial than downstate or the Sun Belt, and that draws three distinct pools of capital. They underwrite differently enough that targeting them separately matters more than broad exposure.

Local and regional operators who self-manage, know the submarkets, and are least disturbed by the tax and regulatory environment because they already operate within it.
Out-of-state yield buyers pursuing cash-on-cash returns no longer available in compressed coastal and Sun Belt markets. Most likely to be surprised by reassessment, and most likely to retrade if it is not surfaced early.
Downstate 1031 capital. Aging New York City ownership with large embedded gains is a documented source of replacement capital seeking basis it can service. Upstate multifamily is a natural destination.

Our buyer list exists so that off-market opportunities reach the right pool rather than the widest one.

04 / Questions Common questions

Which Upstate New York cities have adopted Good Cause Eviction?

Among the four markets we cover: Rochester adopted it in December 2024 and Albany in June 2024. Syracuse rejected it on a 4–4 tied vote in April 2026, and Buffalo has not adopted it.

Statewide, roughly nineteen municipalities have opted in, including Binghamton, Ithaca, Kingston, Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Beacon, Hudson, and White Plains. Troy adopted its own ordinance in spring 2026. The authoritative list is published by New York State DHCR and updated annually on or before 1 August.
Why do property taxes matter so much when selling in Upstate New York?

Because the rates are the highest in the country and because a sale can reset the assessment. Rochester's metro effective rate of 1.82% is first nationally, Buffalo's 1.73% is among the top ten, and twenty-two of the twenty-five most heavily taxed counties in the United States are in Upstate New York.

A buyer who underwrites your historical tax bill may be underwriting a number that changes after closing. When that surfaces during diligence it typically produces a retrade. Modelling post-sale tax exposure in advance and pricing for it is what prevents that.
Is Upstate New York a good market to sell multifamily in right now?

It depends heavily on which city, because the regulatory position varies. Buffalo and Syracuse have no Good Cause overlay, which supports a cleaner rent-growth assumption and a higher multiple on an equivalent rent roll. Rochester and Albany are covered, and buyers price that in.

Across all four, the constant is capital availability: yield-seeking out-of-state buyers and downstate 1031 capital are both active. The variable is how well your specific asset's tax and regulatory position is understood before it goes to market.

Sources. Good Cause Eviction status, exemption thresholds, and fair market rents: New York State Homes and Community Renewal, required DHCR notice current as of 4 May 2026, using HUD fair market rents for FY2025. Property tax rankings: ATTOM 2025 data, reported by Rochester Business Journal. Municipal adoption reporting: Shelterforce and Spectrum News.

Market figures on this page are drawn from third-party research and public records and are cited to their sources. They are provided for general information, are current only as of the dates indicated, and will change. Nothing here is legal, tax, or investment advice, and nothing here is an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security or service. Regulatory summaries are general descriptions of published law, not a determination of how any statute applies to a specific property — consult counsel before acting.

Investment sales across Upstate New York.