José Bejar, a client of The Legal Aid Society, has lived in the same apartment in Bayside Queens for the past nineteen years. During that time, he and his wife Patricia have never missed a rent payment.

This past August, the Bejars were given an eviction notice by their landlord and now that New York State’s eviction moratorium has expired, they will have little ground to fight the proceeding.

Proposed legislation known as “Good Cause” could help people like the Bejars by preventing landlords from evicting tenants without a good reason, like non-payment, even if there is no official lease.

“We do not have a lease but I can show you my bank account history and you will see that I pay my rent by check,” José tells City Limits in a new profile.

Read the full piece here.