MONROE – A federal lawsuit filed by a group of landlords, including Pamela Lee, who own rental properties, says that a Monroe town law passed earlier this year is discriminatory against landlords and violates the federal Fair Housing Act. The lawsuit also alleges that families with more than two people cannot reside in a one-bedroom rental unit.
The lawsuit, filed by six LLCs that own rental properties and Pamela Lee, a member of all of the LLCs and owner of properties in Monroe personally, asserts that the town is attempting to prohibit them from enjoying their constitutional right by depriving them of property rights without due process.
The town law includes the following prohibitions that landlords claim are discriminatory:
- It shall be unlawful for any one person or entity to own more than three residential rental properties within the Town of Monroe.
- It shall be unlawful for the occupancy of any one-bedroom to exceed two persons.
- It shall be unlawful for the owner or managing agent to allow for the parking of more than one commercial vehicle on the property.
The property manager for the plaintiff LLCs, Timothy Mitt, told Mid-Hudson News that the number of rental properties under the new law seems arbitrary while noting that Town Supervisor Anthony Cardone owns three rental properties within the town borders.
The plaintiffs are seeking $7 million in damages because they say the town is preventing them from utilizing their properties for the purpose of renting them out to collect income.
