Appeals Court Upholds Adoption of ETPA in Village of Ossining

The Village of Ossining in Westchester County adopted rent-stabilization coverage under the ETPA  on Sept. 5, 2018, after conducting a vacancy study of available rental housing units in the village and determining that the vacancy rate was 3.06 percent and therefore less than 5 percent.  Owners of affected buildings filed a court challenge under CPLR Article 78 and 42 USC Section 1983. They claimed that the new law violated their civil and constitutional rights and caused damages. On May 8, 2019, the court dismissed the case, and landlords appealed. Five years later, the appeals court ruled against landlords for a number of stated reasons.

 

The appeals court held that notice of the public hearing on the ETPA resolution wasn't illegal or insufficient; an environmental impact review wasn't required for this law; and the village wasn't required to conduct a "complete" survey of all housing but must use a common sense approach and demonstrate that a "good faith study" was conducted. Also, the vacancy study wasn't incomplete. Due process and equal protection weren't violated since rent regulation is rationally related to the legitimate state interest of protecting tenants by ensuring the availability of affordable housing. And where substantial regulation of an owner's use of its own property where deemed necessary to promote the public interest, there was no taking of property without just compensation under the Constitution.