Supreme Court Passes on Challenge to City Rent Regulations

In a decision with deep ramifications for residents of 2.2 million rental units throughout the five boroughs—including thousands of tenants in Prospect Heights—the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case challenging the city's rent regulation laws.

According to the New York Times, the challenge brought before the court involved two Upper West Side property owners who argued that the state's rent controls prevented them from letting their space at market rates and, as a result, violated their rights as property owners.

In failing to hear the case, the nation's highest court dodged the latest assault on laws that protect thousands of rent-regulated tenants throughout the U.S.—most of whom live in New York City, a place where prices have continued to rise astronomically despite still-cool housing markets elsewhere.

Last June, the state's rent control laws due to differences between the two major parties in Albany.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed yet another extension of the city's regulations in March, which will last three years.