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 for the year 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 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.
Speaking first on the call was Nada Hussein, NLIHC’s State and Local Innovation project coordinator. Providing an overview of just cause protections, Nada 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. During the call, Nada shared that – as evidenced by NLIHC’s State and Local Tenant Protections Database - some form of just cause protections have been enacted in 11 states and 27 localities nationwide, including in California, Colorado, Michigan, and Louisiana, with states like Connecticut, Hawai’i, and Maryland having introduced state-level legislation in 2025 to advance just cause eviction standards.
Nada also shared that just cause protections are typically comprised of four key components, as evidenced by an analysis of existing just cause legislation that has been passed across the country. Typically, just cause protections include: (1) a clear definition of the term “just cause” and a clear account of the legal grounds for eviction; (2) explicit notice requirements ensuring a tenant will have advance warning that they will be subject to an eviction, including the reason why they are being evicted; (3) definition of the scope of the law, including exemptions of coverage; and (4) an explanation of the enforcement mechanisms used to uphold the law.
Next, attendees heard from housing advocates and legal service providers in Oregon and Washington state about efforts to enact just cause protections for renters in 2019 and 2021, respectively. Speaking first was Sybil Hebb, Director of Legislative Advocacy at the Oregon Law Center. Sybil spoke about years-long efforts led by tenant advocates and other housing advocates to overcome existing state challenges, including preemptions, myths about small landlords, and other inaccurate narratives to push for “Senate Bill 608” in the Oregon legislature. Specifically, Sybil pointed to targeted legislator outreach, key legislative champions who supported the bill, a strong media and press strategy, and coalition building to help advocate for just cause protections in the state. It was the “Stable Homes for Oregon Families” coalition, which was comprised of issue experts and organizers, legal exports, and political experts, who helped inform the advocacy campaign for “Senate Bill 608,” which states that just cause protections will kick in after the first year of a tenant’s occupancy and includes five “landlord-based” causes allowing a landlord to terminate a tenant’s lease even if the tenant is not at-fault. Currently, just cause protections in Oregon do not apply to units with two or fewer units if the landlord lives in one of the units.
Next was Rachael Myers, Executive Director of the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, and Mindy Woods, board member of the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance and the National Low Income Housing Coalition, as well as the founding member of the Resident Action Project. Rachael and Mindy spoke about advocacy efforts in the state of Washington to advocate for “House Bill 1236” in 2021. Rachael first highlighted the political landscape that allowed for just cause protections to be passed, including how the bill was passed alongside other key tenant protection bills in the state, including right to counsel protections, a new rental assistance and homelessness prevention fund, and a $1.7 billion funding package for building affordable homes, shelter, emergency funding, and foreclosure assistance. Rachael also spoke about the allowable causes for the state’s just cause bill, which includes a tenant’s nonpayment of rent, a documented lease violation, evidence of a crime, nuisance, or waste, and renovations – to name a few. Rachael also spoke about existing loopholes embedded in the state’s bill, which includes no limits on rental increases, and workarounds for notice requirements for tenants. Mindy joined Rachael to talk about the supporters of Washington’s just cause bill, the champions in the legislature who helped move the bill forward, and to offer the perspective of a tenant with lived experience – sharing stories of impact from tenants wrongfully evicted.
Finally, the call concluded with a presentation from Kayla Blackwell, a housing policy analyst at NLIHC. Kayla 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. Kayla shared that attendees can endorse the National Tenants Bill of Rights here.
NLIHC’s State and Local Innovation campaign team will host two additional webinars in this series, with the next two webinars taking place on April 16 and June 11. Both webinars will take place from 2-3 pm ET and will focus on rent stabilization protections and laws that strengthen code enforcement procedures and habitability standards, respectively.
To learn more about the work of the State and Local Innovation campaign, please visit: https://nlihc.org/state-and-local-innovation.
Registration for the next two webinars can be found here.