KINGSTON – The Kingston Rent Guidelines Board has voted to freeze rents for over 1,200 units covered by the Emergency Tenant Protection Act on Wednesday night.
The board voted 6-2 to enact a zero percent rent adjustment for leases and one- and two percent a year leases that commence between October 1, 2024, and September 30, 2025.
This was the second rent freeze the board ordered in two years, and comes after the 15 percent rent reduction set by the board in November 2022, that was recently upheld by an Appellate court.
This decision came after For the Many mobilized dozens of tenants to testify at public hearings and submit written comments earlier this month.
Tenants testified that landlords were illegally attempting to raise rents despite the orders of the board, were refusing to conduct necessary repairs, and that no tenant has received the 15 percent rent reduction.
Meanwhile, tenants and their allies have continued to call on the state Department of Housing and Community Renewal to adequately enforce the orders of the board and the law.
“We are pleased Kingston Rent Guidelines Board voted to freeze rents for the second year in a row,” said Jenna Goldstein, tenant organizer at For the Many. “This decision is a testament to the power of tenant organizing and the scale of the housing crisis here in Kingston. But these decisions are not enough—the Department of Housing and Community Renewal must take action to enforce the decisions of the RGB and the law, and open a Tenant Protection Unit office in the Hudson Valley. In the meantime, For the Many will continue organizing tenants to fight back against landlord abuse, build tenant power, and fight to transform our housing system.”
