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New York state Supreme Court judge has struck down Poughkeepsie's recent rent stabilization law, handing a victory to local landlords. Justice Christi Acker ruled that the city's rental vacancy study was flawed and didn't meet the necessary requirements for enacting rent control. The study, conducted by consultants hired by the city, failed to account for responses from four building representatives whose vacant units would have pushed the vacancy rate above 5 percent, the threshold required under the state's Emergency Tenant Protection Act.

    The court also criticized the study for incorrectly recording a 0 percent vacancy rate for 13 qualified buildings that weren't contacted and for not properly communicating the study's intent to property owners. Acker wrote that decisions on declaring or ending housing emergencies must be based on objective data and reasoned analysis, which the city's study lacked.

    The Hudson Valley Property Owners Association, which filed a lawsuit against the rent stabilization law, celebrated the ruling. Tenant advocacy group Housing Justice for All expressed disappointment not just with the decision but also with the process of adopting rent control in Poughkeepsie. "Today's decision is further evidence that the vacancy study process throws up arbitrary barriers to sensible policy choices and is a boon to litigious landlords," said coalition director Cea Weaver.

    Poughkeepsie's rent stabilization law restricted rent increases for tenants and allowed them to pass renewal rights to heirs. The city joins Newburgh, which had its rent control law thrown out in April due to a flawed vacancy study.