The Emergency Tenant Protection Act (ETPA) was unanimously adopted by the Poughkeepsie Common Council in a vote on Tuesday.

While it still needs to be signed by Poughkeepsie Mayor Yvonne Flowers, the act would provide tenants who qualify protection from eviction, the right to renew their leases and a freeze on their rents.

This would be until the city forms a Rent Guidelines Board and begins holding public hearings and voting on rent adjustments annually.

For The Many, a nonprofit group that fights for housing rights, said the Poughkeepsie Common Council has 30 days to create a Rent Guidelines Board that includes members of the public, landlords, property owners and tenants.

“It's going to be a good thing for the whole city because we're seeing rents go up all across the city. We're seeing landlords and developers just doing whatever they want, and rent stabilization is like a chance to like to kind of even the scales in our favor,” said Daniel Atonna, political coordinator at For The Many.

This comes following a vacancy study that found a vacancy rate in the city of Poughkeepsie to be 4.03%.

For The Many said ETPA protections apply to buildings that were built prior to 1974 and have six or more units, which they expect is close to 1,500 in the city of Poughkeepsie.