[Ed. note: The following comment was posted on the River Reporter website under the story “Housing in the Hudson Valley is ‘out of reach’,” www.riverreporter.com/stories/housing-in-the-hudson-valley-is-out-of-reach,156709.]

One place to start is fixing the eviction court system. I have been a landlord for 40 years in Sullivan County. I am selling all my apartments. 

I had five evictions in the first 35 years. Since COVID, that number has increased five-fold in only a couple of years. 

Evictions need to be fair for both tenants and landlords. Until then, affordable housing will be a dream. It costs approx $10,000 for an eviction between lawyers and lost rent. 

That amount is added to other, good tenants’ rent, making rentals higher. 

Further, building costs to build new are very high and building codes are becoming restrictive and expensive. Property taxes in the ‘80s and ‘90s typically represented 1/12 of total income. Now they are far higher. 

The system can be fixed, but it will not happen magically. Government needs to start addressing these issues. 

Mark McLewin
Posted online