Landlords File Lawsuit Claiming Rent Control Laws Are Unconstitutional
A group of landlords and building owners is trying to get a federal court to strike down the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019.
NEW YORK CITY—Community Housing Improvement Program, the Rent Stabilization Association of NYC and individual property owners filed a lawsuit in federal court to reverse the rent control and tenant protection laws passed by the state legislature and signed into law by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo last month.
New York Law Journal reporter Dan M. Clark explains the case. The complaint asserts the new laws are unconstitutional. It alleges the laws violate the Due Process Clause of both low-income populations as well as landlords and building owners. It also claims violations of the Taking Clause of the Fifth Amendment that requires compensation when property is taken for public use.
The plaintiffs assert that the rent control laws prevent landlords from doing what they want with their property without receiving a benefit. It also says when landlords cannot pass onto tenants the costs of certain improvements, this is burden—amounting to taking property without compensation.
Read Clark’s full article in GlobeSt.com’s sister publication, the New York Law Journal.