Landlord Can't Eliminate Central Air Conditioning

Landlord applied to the DRA for permission to discontinue central air-conditioning service in a seven-unit building. Landlord claimed that it had installed the air-conditioning system in 1965. The entire system now needed to be completely replaced, but it was too costly to do so. Landlord offered to reduce tenants' rents after discontinuing the service. Tenants objected to landlord's application, pointing out that their leases required air conditioning and that the apartments were virtually uninhabitable without it. The DRA denied landlord's application, and landlord appealed. The DHCR found that central air conditioning was a required service that landlord must continue to maintain. Notably, the building had been remodeled in 1965 so as to decrease access to window openings and cross-ventilation. The air-conditioning service may have been a prime factor in tenants choosing to rent apartments there in the first place.

Stern: DHCR Adm. Rev. Dckt. No. BH 410342-RO (4/21/93) [3-page document]