FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 13, 2025

Kingston Releases 2025 Rental Vacancy Survey Findings

KINGSTON, NY – Mayor Steven T. Noble and the Office of Housing Initiatives announce the release of the 2025 Vacancy Survey Findings.

Between April and June 2025, the City of Kingston’s Office of Housing Initiatives conducted a housing vacancy analysis to reevaluate current conditions in the local rental housing market across various housing types.

The 2025 survey found that the net vacancy rate for sampled ETPA properties is 7.04%, exceeding the 5% threshold for declaring a housing emergency. The rate of 7.04% found in the survey represents a return to levels observed in 2019, when the vacancy rate was 5.8%. While the overall net vacancy rate for surveyed ETPA properties exceeds the emergency threshold, vacancy rates vary considerably by building size. Notably, buildings with more than 22 units recorded a net vacancy rate below the emergency benchmark.

“When the Common Council passed ETPA into law in 2022, the Common Council passed a separate Resolution to conduct a vacancy study every three years, so that instead of allowing property owners to repeatedly challenge the emergency declaration by manufacturing their own data, the City could accurately assess and update our understanding of the current rental market,” said Mayor Noble. “The 2022 survey unequivocally showed that the City of Kingston was in a housing emergency, and we were able to opt into the Emergency Tenant Protection Act. The latest survey finds that the net vacancy rate for ETPA-covered properties exceeds the percentage required to declare a municipality-wide housing emergency. However, buildings containing more than 22 units do still fall under the 5% vacancy threshold needed to declare a housing emergency. With the results released, I now call upon the Common Council to conduct its own legislative review of the survey results. While we recognize that housing is still a very challenging issue, we hope that some of the City’s many housing efforts are starting to relieve the housing pressures. And we will continue to advocate for our tenants across the community.”

Changes in the Kingston housing market since the 2022 housing emergency declaration include: adoption of a landmark citywide rezoning to promote density and infill development, implementation and enforcement of new short-term rental regulations, passage of Good Cause Eviction, and a myriad of other housing initiatives.

For the first time, the 2025 survey also included a survey of the City’s regulated and market-rate building stock. The study found that the vacancy rate for these two categories was 2.37% and 2.08%, respectively. These results confirm the need for continued public investment and attention to ensure that there is enough housing available of all types for those that want to live in Kingston.

The complete report, with methodology and survey responses, is available at https://www.kingston-ny.gov/filestorage/8399/8469/48370/City_of_Kingston_2025_Rental_Vacancy_Survey.pdf

"To inform policymaking, it is essential that the City have an accurate understanding of on-the-ground conditions in the City’s rental market. As I did in 2022, I am proud to once again release a faithful, accurate, and expanded vacancy study for the Common Council to consider,” said Bartek Starodaj, Director of Housing Initiatives. “Our rental market continues to face a crisis that demands action from every level of government and the private sector. This expanded evaluation of housing accommodations gives us the clear picture we need to act.”

The Director of Housing Initiatives will present the survey to the Laws and Rules Committee on August 20, 2025.  Thereafter, it is expected that the Common Council will begin its review of the survey results and make findings to determine if a housing emergency continues to exist for any class of rental properties subject to the ETPA, and if continued rent stabilization would benefit Kingston residents.

For more about ETPA, visit https://engagekingston.com/etpa.

Mayor Noble established the Department of Housing Initiatives in 2020 to support housing planning in the City of Kingston. The Department manages housing-related grants, supports the construction of new market-rate and affordable housing, develops policies to protect existing residents, and addresses the connection between housing and sustainability, health, and mobility. The Department also reviews the disposition of city-owned property suitable for housing development and collaborates with local and regional housing organizations. Visit https://kingston-ny.gov/housing.