A major test case of the legal viability of rent stabilization in parts outside of New York City tipped the scales in favor of tenants.
The New York Court of Appeals upheld the vacancy study held by the city of Kingston, the Times Union reported. In turn, the city’s decision to reduce the rent of stabilized buildings in the city can also stand.
A landlord group, the Hudson Valley Property Owners Association, challenged the pair of decisions, arguing the vacancy study that enabled the city to opt into the state’s Emergency Tenant Protection Act was faulty. The Court of Appeals determined HVPOA did not meet the burden of demonstrating the vacancy study did not accurately reflect the true vacancy rate in the city.
Having no issue with the vacancy study, the court also upheld the city’s Rent Guidelines Board’s move to reduce rents in protected buildings by 15 percent. The court’s decision also allows tenants to file complaints with the state for rent refunds.
“Kingston was the first New York municipality to opt into rent stabilization north of Rockland County, and we have paved the way for other municipalities by defending our laws and practices up to the highest court of the state,” Kingston Mayor Steve Noble said in a statement.
Housing Justice for All’s Cea Weaver also celebrated the Court of Appeals’ ruling.
On the other side, Hudson Valley Property Owners Association Executive Director Richard Lanzarone said the court’s ruling “will continue to restrict the housing supply, accelerate the deterioration of the existing housing stock, and lead to reduced housing investment in Kingston.”
Kingston’s board voted by majority on the rent reduction nearly three years ago, battling with the landlord group’s legal challenges in the interim. The state’s rent stabilization act applies to 64 buildings in the city, covering roughly 1,200 units.
The Rent Guidelines Board is scheduled to hold a vote on Thursday regarding rent adjustments for leases subject to rent stabilization between October 2025 and September 2026.
— Holden Walter-Warner
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