The fate of the 15 percent rent rollback on almost 1,300 apartments in Kingston could be decided next week in state Supreme Court.

On Friday, state Supreme Court Judge David Gandin issued a restraining order against the measure, approved by Kingston’s Rent Guidelines Board last week, which would force landlords of apartment complexes of six units or more built before 1974 to dramatically slash rents.

The rollback and other protections for tenants of apartments covered by the “emergency declaration” provision of the state Emergency Tenant Protection Act were triggered when the Kingston Common Council, in the wake of a survey finding the vacancy rate for ETPA-eligible apartments was well below the required 5 percent, declared a “housing emergency” in Kingston.

The motion was brought by the Hudson Valley Property Owners Association, a coalition of landlords. In court papers, the HVPOA’s attorney, Matthew Brett, argued that his clients would suffer “immediate and irreparable harm” because of what he says was an illegal action of the Rent Guidelines Board. The HVPOA is also asking the court to block the implementation of any ETPA-related measure by the city pending oral arguments next week.

In court papers, the HVPOA argues that the city’s housing emergency declaration was an “infringement upon constitutionally protected property rights” and the council’s “actions constitute a governmental exercise of its police powers without substantive due process.”

The time and place of Tuesday's hearing were not immediately available.

Coming at the decision on full blast was For the Many, a housing advocacy group which worked hard to get the emergency declared in the first place and get affected tenants to a number of public hearings convened by the Rent Guidelines Board as they deliberated on a rent cap, or rollback. Kingston was the first city in the 48-year history of the ETPA to mandate that rates be cut.

“We condemn this decision in the strongest possible terms,” For the Many’s Communications Lead Aaron Narraph Fernando stated in a communique from the organization on Friday. “This reduction was carefully deliberated by the [Rent Guidelines Board] after hearing data about Kingston’s rising rents, as well as testimony from over seventy tenants and their supporters. Tenants described their outrageous rent hikes (some as high as 70 percent), arbitrary fees, and deteriorating apartment conditions. The vast majority called for a rent reduction. For comparison, only six landlords testified in opposition.

“Despite having representation on the [Rent Guidelines Board] and ample opportunity to testify, landlords knew they couldn’t win through the democratic process,” Fernando continued. “Instead, they’re using their vast financial resources to subvert the will of the many in court.”

For the Many expressed confidence that the judge will rule against the landlords, and called upon Gov. Kathy Hochul and Albany lawmakers to “protect tenants by passing the statewide Good Cause Eviction bill and strengthening the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA).”