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28 <br /> <br />determine if just cause exists. Once the just cause ordinance is adopted, the City plays no further <br />role in the process, nor does it incur any administrative costs. <br /> <br />Just Cause Protections in Other States (and Countries) <br /> <br />Cities around the country have explored just cause eviction ordinances as an anti- <br />displacement tool.88 Though they vary, eligible causes typically include nonpayment of rent; <br />crimes on site; lease violations; denying reasonable access to make repairs; renovation or <br />demolition; and conversion to non-rental use. 89 The extent of the protections also vary within <br />and among the states and around the world. Some states, such as New Jersey and New <br />Hampshire provide protection for all residents. The District of Columbia and cities in California, <br />Maryland, New York, Washington, and Oregon do locally as well. Others, such as Rhode Island, <br />Massachusetts, and Connecticut, offer protection only to a subset of vulnerable tenants.90 <br />Interestingly, almost all western European countries restrict evictions “without grounds” for a <br />period of months or years.91 Nine countries prohibit such evictions indefinitely. <br /> <br />Policymakers often couple just cause protections with other tenant protection measures. <br />Ideally, rent stabilization measures would bolster the effectiveness of just cause protections. <br />Without such measures, landlords can evade eviction restrictions by raising the tenant’s rent to a <br />prohibitive amount. However, Minnesota Statute 471.9996 prohibits city governments from <br />adopting rent control unless the “ordinance, charter amendment, or law that controls rents is <br />approved in a general election.” Nevertheless, FHIC members should consider local just cause <br />ordinances to address issues cited above. Neither New Hampshire nor New Jersey has statewide <br />rent control, and many cities offer just cause protections in the absence of rent stabilization.92 <br /> <br /> FHIC members could also pursue other complementary measures. For example, a <br />proposed Boston ordinance would have required landlords or foreclosing owners seeking to evict <br />tenants to send any notice to quit to the City of Boston’s Office of Housing Stability within two <br /> <br />88 While interest in just cause protections has increased recently, the concept has its (American) <br />foundations in a 1921 Supreme Court decision upholding the District of Columbia Rents Act <br />which prohibited a landlord from evicting a tenant, even after the expiration of a lease, without <br />other good cause. Block v. Hirsch 256 U.S. 135 (1921). <br />89 HOME LINE, ISSUE BRIEF: JUST CAUSE EVICTION (2015). <br />90 Rhode Island and Massachusetts require just cause for the eviction of tenants in foreclosed <br />residential properties. R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-38.2. Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 186A. Connecticut <br />requires just cause for eviction of tenants in buildings with 5 or more units or in manufactured <br />housing who are 62 years or older, blind, or physically disabled. Conn. Ch. 832 Sec. 47a-23c. <br />91 SHELTER, TIME FOR REFORM: HOW OUR NEIGHBORS WITH MATURE PRIVATE RENTING <br />MARKETS GUARANTEE STABILITY FOR RENTERS. (2016). <br />https://england.shelter.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/1289615/Time_for_reform_FINAL.pd <br />f <br />92 URBAN HABITAT, STRENGTHENING COMMUNITIES THROUGH RENT CONTROL AND JUST-CAUSE <br />EVICTIONS 3 (2018). https://urbanhabitat.org/sites/default/files/UH 2018 Strengthening <br />Communities Through Rent Control_0.pdf