Engineer Certified There Were No Building Violations

Landlord applied for MCI rent hikes based on exterior restoration work. The DRA ruled for landlord. Tenants appealed, claiming that there were rent-impairing violations at the building, which barred approval of the MCI application. The DHCR ruled against tenants. Landlord had submitted a sworn statement from a licensed engineer that all nontenant-induced violations had been corrected. There were violations in the HPD database for two apartments just before the DRA issued its order. HPD noted that there was "no access" by tenants. Under DHCR Policy Statement 96-1, the DRA properly accepted a third-party certification from landlord that all violations had been cleared except for the two where tenants wouldn't provide access. Tenants didn't rebut landlord's claim before the DRA.

839 Riverside Drive: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. SD430012RT (4/3/08) [2-pg. doc.]