Landlord Waited Too Long to File MCI Application

Landlord applied for MCI rent hikes based on the installation of a new boiler/burner. The DRA ruled against landlord, finding its application untimely. Landlord had filed its application more than two years after completiing the installation. Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord claimed that it had to wait to receive the required government permits before filing its MCI application and that it filed its application within two years after the permits were issued. But DHCR regulations provide only for a reasonable extension of time if a landlord could show a delay beyond its control and then applied promptly within the two-year period. The regulations didn't create a new two-year filing period dating from the time the government permits were actually obtained. In this case, landlord obtained the permits less than two years after the boiler/burner installation was physically completed and could have filed its MCI application before the two-year limit expired.

2085 Valentine Avenue: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. WA630036RO (5/31/13) [1-pg. doc.]