ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rochester City Council decided on Tuesday night’s meeting that it would not vote on the Good Cause Eviction legislation until next month.

Outside City Hall, protestors gathered, disappointed with the delay. Protestors spoke about how evictions have affected them and what actions they’re demanding from the city.

“We can pass the beginning part today, tonight, and work on the rest later,” one protestor said.

Good Cause Eviction would create extra protections for people who rent their homes and apartments in the city. As News10NBC has covered, if the measure passes through city council, landlords with more than 10 rental units would have to prove good cause before evicting a tenant. 

Good cause examples include a tenant not paying rent, using the unit for something illegal, or doing something that compromises the safety of other tenants. When the state legislature passed the measure in April, it gave municipalities outside New York City the choice to opt-in. City council introduced legislation on Good Cause Eviction in June.

City Council President Miguel Melendez said the members will vote on the legislation, alongside three other items, at the meeting on Dec. 17. He says more time is needed for council members to vet the full package of resolutions.

City council members Stanley Martin, Mary Lupien, and Kim Smith responded to the decision saying, in part: “the lack of urgency by the council president around protecting families and keeping them in their homes, especially as we enter the holiday season, is especially hard to sit with.”