A New York appellate court on Thursday unanimously ruled in favor of Kingston's rent reduction plan in a major win for fair housing advocates,

"This ruling is a major victory for tenants in Kingston and the prospect of securing housing justice for all New Yorkers, a spokesperson for grassroots organization For The Many said.

The city's Rent Guidelines Board approved the 15% rent rollbacks in November 2022 after saying the cost of a two-bedroom apartment in Ulster County rose by almost 50% between 2016 and 2020. In addition, a housing study found a vacancy rate below 5%. That study, allowed the city to declare a housing emergency and opt into rent stabilization.

The stabilization was initially challenged by a group of landlords who argued the city improperly conducted that housing study but the court disagreed.

The landlord group that challenged rent stabilization, Hudson Valley Property Owners Association, Inc., has not yet responded to News 12's request for comment.

The court's unanimously ruling means the landlord group will need to petition the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals, to hear a future challenge.