Cortland (WSYR-TV) - Landlords in Cortland will be filing a lawsuit against the city on Monday arguing the city's longstanding rental unit occupancy laws are unconstitutional. The laws say no more than three unrelated people can live in a rental unit and the landlords say enforcing that law will mean a major loss in their income.
A five-bedroom house, which Gerry Ruggiero says housed five unrelated students quite comfortably, would be in violation of the occupancy laws. He argues that the laws are too vague. "This is my house that's illegal. It's a five bedroom house," Ruggiero said. "What's the difference between 5 college students in a house and a family of 8 in the same house that are related there's no difference in density issues."
Last year, Cortland passed a rental permit law that sparked the lawsuit. Landlords felt the city would use the new law to enforce the occupancy laws, something the Hill Association homeowners' group wanted.
Craig Little of Cortland says it's not an issue of landlords versus homeowners. Instead, he points to a different issue in his neighborhood, where one home owner occupied but the other is student housing - and he says it is falling apart. "While we're very enthusiastic about living in a mixed neighborhood, with a balance of permanent residents and students, I think we have to be very careful that it doesn't tip over," he said.
Ruggiero says there's a better approach than these occupancy laws, to ensure it doesn't; and hopes a judge will agree.
City representative Ron Walsh says he can't comment on the lawsuit until its filed on Monday, but says the intention of the occupancy law is to protect student renters. A meeting between the Hill Association and the apartment owners' association has been set for later this month.
