Landlord Gets $2 Rent Increase for Tenant-Installed Air Conditioner

Landlord asked the DRA to increase rent-controlled tenant's monthly rent by $5 because tenant had installed an air conditioner. The DRA ruled that tenant's rent should be increased by only $2. Landlord appealed and lost. DHCR Operational Bulletin 84-4, Supplement 1, states that the $5 increase applies where tenant installs his own air conditioner which protrudes beyond the building line, pays his own electricity, and makes the installation on or after Oct. 1, 1985. For air conditioners installed before that date by rent-controlled tenants, the operational bulletin states that the increase shall be only $2.

Koslowski: DHCR Adm. Rev. Dckt. No. CJ-220163-RO (4/7/95) [2-page document]