Town forcing landlords to turn triplexes into duplexes?

[Jeff Hozias]

Im new to real estate investing. 

Im interested in buying a property in Middletown NY, however my real estate agent told me the town is forcing landlords to convert triplexes into duplexes when they can't fill the vacancy fast enough. He also said this makes triplexes difficult to find in the area. 

Im not certain what this means on the macro side of things. Does this mean they are looking to increase the number of owner occupied properties? Could they just be trying to decrease local vacancies? Will this force property values to increase? (I think it may) 

What does this mean for real estate investment? Does this make for a difficult first investment? Have any of you experienced a situation similar to this? 

Thank you! 

-Jeff 

[Matthew Paul]

That sounds like a " taking" of private property without payment .  Zoning in my area has a non conforming or grandfathered clause . They wont allow new triplexes , but if its already there its legal