NYS Supreme Court Judge David Gandin Grants Landlords’ Request for Temporary Waiver Of Requirement To Issue Leases While Preserving All Other ETPA Rights & Requirements
Rent Stabilized Tenants Still Have a Rent Freeze and Eviction Protections While the Lawsuit Continues
NEW YORK – New York State Supreme Court Judge David Gandin granted the landlord request to waive lease requirements while preserving all other rights of rent stabilized tenants. Landlords sued Kingston for the second time after the Common Council voted unanimously in January to continue rent regulations following a new vacancy study. The judge’s order temporarily suspends the requirement for landlords to provide new rent stabilized leases, but rents remain frozen, tenants have protections against evictions without cause, and overcharge claims can continue to be processed while the case plays out.
“Kingston tenants have endured years of litigation over our rights already and we are ready to do it again. With skyrocketing prices, there is nowhere else in town to go if we lose our homes – so losing rent stabilization is not an option. We will fight every step of the way to remain in our homes and our community,” said Caitlin Ruppert, a Kingston rent-stabilized tenant.
“All this means is that during the duration of the litigation, landlords will not be required to offer new rent-stabilized leases. This hasn’t been happening anyway because few landlords have complied with the law. Rents are still frozen, and tenants are owed reductions and refunds for overcharges regardless of the outcome of the case,” said June Nemon, tenant organizer.
Tenants fought for the adoption of rent stabilization in Kingston after rents nearly doubled between 2017-2022, pricing many out of their homes and causing a housing emergency. Kingston tenants overcame three years of litigation, and won not only rent stabilization protections but also a 15% rent reduction approved by the Rent Guidelines Board to address rampant price-gouging. Landlords have flouted the law, refusing to provide leases with the legal regulated rent, and threatening tenants who spoke up about conditions and vacancies in their buildings. In 2025, the City of Kingston conducted a new vacancy study and the Common Council conducted a rigorous process to examine the data and hear from tenants before declaring a new housing emergency to maintain rent stabilization early this year. Landlords sued again on March 18, 2026, arguing that ample tenant testimony during the public hearings about warehousing and landlord dishonesty should not be considered, despite the fact that public hearings are a legally mandated requirement for municipalities to opt into rent stabilization.
“Landlords keep trying to kill rent stabilization because they want to make as much profit as possible. But our apartments are not their piggy banks – they are our homes! And we won’t stop fighting to defend our homes. The Common Council did their job to examine the data and act on behalf of their constituents; now it’s time for the lawyers to do theirs,” said Andrew Hiller, co-chair of the Housing Working Group of the Mid Hudson Valley Democratic Socialists of America.
“The idea that Kingston’s housing emergency is over is preposterous. Hundreds of families are living in emergency hotels on the outskirts of town. It’s nearly impossible to find an apartment to rent, even for people making middle class incomes. Rents are far outpacing wages. The Common Council sat through hours of public testimony and dug into the data to come to the only reasonable conclusion: Kingston’s housing emergency merits continued rent stabilization. The vacancy study is an arbitrary and outdated measure of a housing emergency and it’s time to get rid of it by passing the REST Act,” said Xaver Kandler, Political Director of For the Many.
Tenants and advocates are urging the state legislature to pass the Rent Emergency Stabilization for Tenants (REST) Act (S04659 Kavanagh / A04877 Shrestha), which would empower municipalities like Kingston to declare a housing emergency and adopt rent stabilization based on a variety of publicly available data and testimony. Rather than require a costly vacancy study as the only metric for a housing emergency, the REST Act would enable municipalities to consider additional data, such as overall housing supply, availability of affordable and habitable housing, share of renters who are cost-burdened, and local or regional homeless rates.
“Tenants in Kingston are fighting to stay in their homes as rent and living costs skyrocket. Landlords are doing everything in their power to boost their bottom lines, filing suit after frivolous suit to prevent Kingston and other upstate municipalities from adopting lifesaving rent stabilization and protecting tenants. As long as these suits continue, tenants will be at risk of losing their homes. New York State lawmakers need to pass the Rent Emergency Stabilization for Tenants (REST) Act and put a stop to frivolous lawsuits meant to drain municipal bank accounts and destabilize our communities,” said Sumathy Kumar, Director of Housing Justice for All, the statewide coalition which led the 2019 fight to reform and expand rent stabilization.
The 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act allowed municipalities outside of NYC and the suburban counties to adopt rent stabilization – but the onerous and outdated vacancy study requirement has become a boon for landlords seeking to block tenant protections. Landlords, funded in large part by the New York City landlord lobby now known as the New York Apartment Association (NYAA), sued Kingston, as well as Poughkeepsie and Newburgh which later attempted to adopt rent stabilization. Despite nearly a dozen attempts around the state, the City of Kingston is the only city that has successfully adopted rent stabilization, overcoming three years of litigation which ended in June 2025 when the Court of Appeals upheld their declaration of a housing emergency and the 15% negative rent adjustment.
Judge Grandin ordered the City to respond to the landlords’ petition by April 27, and set a briefing schedule stretching into late May for the preliminary injunction.
Until any next ruling, rents are frozen and tenants cannot be evicted without cause. Key components of the order:
– Landlords are not required to provide leases to tenants of ETPA-covered units.
– DHCR must pause any work on complaints for a landlord’s failure to issue a lease offer or failure to provide a signed copy of a lease.
– Other than the ETPA’s requirements regarding leases, tenants within ETPA units continue to have all the other rights afforded by the ETPA, including (but not limited to) the right to pursue legal action when a landlord has collected more than the legal regulated rent and protection against eviction without a good cause.
“Rent-stabilized tenants in Kingston remain protected from rent hikes and eviction – and should contact the Hudson Valley Justice Center if they receive a notice of eviction or lease nonrenewal. This fight isn’t over, rent stabilization in Kingston is here to stay,” said Ben Surface, supervising attorney at the Hudson Valley Justice Center. Tenants can contact HVJC at 914-308-3490 x 4.