Recap of 2/25 State and Local Innovation Campaign’s “Strengthening Renters’ Rights: A Primer on “Just Cause” Protections” Webinar

On February 25, NLIHC’s State and Local Innovation campaign kicked off its “Strengthening Renters’ Rights: A Primer on State and Local Tenant Protections” webinar series with a call focused on “just cause” eviction protections. Known commonly as “good” or “for” cause eviction standards, just cause protections establish standards that limit the reasons for which a landlord can evict a tenant or refuse to renew a tenant’s lease when the tenant is not at fault or in violation of any laws. By establishing a well-defined set of principles for which a landlord can justly evict a tenant, just cause eviction protections seek to address arbitrary, retaliatory, and discriminatory eviction practices – especially those that occur outside of the formal eviction process or through the courts, known as “informal evictions.”

During the call, attendees had the opportunity to learn more about just cause eviction protections, the core components of such laws, and where these protections have currently been passed. Attendees also had the opportunity to learn more about two state-level campaigns to enact just cause protections for tenants, including in Oregon and Washington state. Finally, attendees had the opportunity to learn more about NLIHC’s National Tenant’s Bill of Rights platform, including how advocates can endorse the bill to strengthen renters’ rights at the federal level. 

Slides from the 2/25 webinar can be found, here. 

On the call, NLIHC’s State and Local Innovation project coordinator, Nada Hussein, shared information on NLIHC’s toolkit and case study released on just cause protections in fall 2024. Embedded in the toolkit is an overview of just cause protections, the common components of the protection, information about state and local jurisdictions that have adopted the protection, provisions that should be taken into consideration when enacting the protection, and complementary policies that can be passed alongside the protection to ensure the greatest impact possible for renter households across the country. Nada also shared that – as evidenced by NLIHC’s State and Local Tenant Protections Database – that some form of just cause protections have currently been enacted in 11 states and 27 localities nationwide, including in California, Colorado, Michigan, and Louisiana, with states like Connecticut, Hawai’i, and Maryland all having introduced state-level legislation in 2025 to advance just cause eviction standards.  

NLIHC housing policy analyst, Kayla Blackwell, shared information about NLIHC’s National Tenant Bill of Rights and the seven key components that comprise the federal policy platform to strengthen renters’ rights. Cosponsored with the National Housing Law Project and Tenant Union Federation, the National Tenants Bill of Rights advocates for: (1) the right to a fair application; (2) the right to a fair lease; (3) the right to freedom from discrimination and harassment; (4) the right to a habitable home; (5) the right to reasonable rent and costs; (6) the right to organize; and (7) the right to safeguards against evictions.

Endorse the National Tenants Bill of Rights, here.  

NLIHC’s State and Local Innovation campaign team will host two additional webinars in this series, on April 16 and June 11, from 2:00 – 3:30 PM EST. The webinars will focus on rent stabilization protections and laws that strengthen code enforcement procedures and habitability standards. 

To learn more about the work of the State and Local Innovation campaign, please visit: https://nlihc.org/state-and-local-innovation  

Register for the webinar series, here.