Landlord Proved Correction of Enough HPD Violations

(Decision submitted by James R. Marino of the Manhattan law firm of Kucker & Bruh, LLP, attorneys for the landlord.) Facts:Landlord applied for 1986-87 MBR rent hikes. The DRA ruled against landlord because it didn't certify the removal of enough building violations to qualify. Landlord appealed. Ten years later, the DHCR ruled for landlord. Tenants then appealed. The court sent the case back to the DHCR for further fact-finding. After reconsideration, the DHCR again ruled for landlord. Tenants again appealed. Courts: Tenants lose. The DHCR found that 59 out of 61 non-rent-impairing violations had been corrected. So landlord had corrected the required 80 percent of non-rent-impairing violations and was entitled to the MBR rent hike. Tenants had claimed that there was another violation. But HPD records stated that the other violation was improperly written up. So the DHCR reasonably omitted that violation from the total in calculating how many had been corrected.

Longobardi v. DHCR: Index No. 118898/01 (Sup. Ct. NY 5/30/02; Shulman, J) [13-pg. doc.]