Facade Work Qualifies

Landlord applied for MCI rent hikes based on facade work and a new roof installation. The DRA ruled for landlord. Tenants appealed, claiming that landlord merely did repair work. The DHCR ruled for tenants in part. Landlord's facade work clearly qualified as an MCI. Along with the roof installation, landlord performed a comprehensive renovation of the exterior surfaces of the building, including masonry/parapets, chimney, pointing, stucco, and lintels and pressure cleaning. However, two work items submitted---new concrete flatwork and new entry steps for one unit---were repair work. So the DHCR reduced the $195,000 MCI costs by $1,500 and recalculated the rent hikes.

Various Tenants of 521 E. 82nd St.: DHCR Adm. Rev. Dckt. No. RD410065RT (3/30/04) [3-pg. doc.]