ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — With the state budget due by the weekend, local tenants and elected officials are pressing state lawmakers to push through “Good Cause Eviction” protections.

They held a rally in downtown Rochester Tuesday.

Under bills up for debate in Albany, landlords would be banned from raising rents more than either three percent or 1.5 times the annual percentage change in the region’s consumer price index without justification. Renters would also have more of a say in the lease renewal process.

“It helps tenants keep their housing instead of being homeless,” said Barbara Rivera, housing advocate with Citizen Action. “As we know that rents are sky rocketing right now, and evictions are also in the high, we need to fight housing where it is and we need to get people housed.”

On the other hand, property owners have concerns about what it will do to pricing and force local landlords out of business. They say good cause eviction would discourage real estate investment and ultimately drive up rents for tenants.

Republican New York State Senator Pam Helming, in response to those claims, said she doesn’t think good cause eviction protections are the answer to our housing crisis.

“There are multiple things we can do and should be doing,” Helming said. “The voucher program, building more affordable homes for seniors for first time home buyers, for everyone. There’s a lot that we can do, and I’m convinced that we will see some progress in the budget that should be passed any day now.”

The budget is due April 1st.