Kingston Agreed the Rent Was too Damn High — So It Lowered It

Kingston, New York, a small city 90 minutes from Manhattan, has become an unexpected trailblazer in rent stabilization policy. Facing rapidly rising housing costs that saw median rents jump 46.1 percent in just a few years, Kingston took the unprecedented step of becoming the first municipality in New York outside of New York City and its neighboring counties to opt into the Emergency Tenant Protection Act (ETPA). This decision, made possible by the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, allowed Kingston to implement rent stabilization measures in response to its growing housing affordability crisis.

The path to rent stabilization in Kingston highlights the crucial role of accurate data in urban policy decisions. An initial vacancy survey showing a 6.7 percent rate nearly derailed the effort, as it exceeded the 5 percent threshold required to declare a housing emergency. However, grassroots organizers pushed for a more thorough, city-conducted survey, which revealed a stark 1.57 percent vacancy rate. This finding not only enabled Kingston to proceed with rent stabilization but also exposed the severity of the city's housing shortage, challenging conventional methods of assessing housing needs.

In a move that has sent ripples through the state's housing policy landscape, Kingston's Rent Guidelines Board ordered a 15 percent rent reduction for stabilized units - the first such reduction in New York State history. The board also declared that any rent increase exceeding 16 percent between January 2019 and July 2022 constituted an overcharge, empowering tenants to seek refunds. While these decisions face ongoing legal challenges from landlord associations, they represent a significant shift in the approach to tenant protections and affordable housing policy.

See the source article to learn more about how they did it.