Landlord's Proof of Emergency Condition Didn't Warrant Useful Life Waiver

Landlord applied for MCI rent hikes based on an elevator upgrade. The DRA ruled against landlord, finding that a prior MCI order had been granted for an elevator upgrade in 2005. Therefore, landlord hadn't fulfilled the 25-year useful life requirement needed before another MCI could be granted for the same work.

Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord claimed that it had met the requirements for a useful life waiver from the DHCR. Generally, such waiver request must be made before submitting an MCI application. In an emergency, the request can be made with the MCI application. Here, although landlord claimed that there had been an emergency, its proof was insufficient. Landlord submitted photographs of the elevator and a statement by a sales representative of its elevator maintenance company. The sales rep stated that the elevator and its components were badly worn and that the main machine was leaking lubricant severely. But the DHCR ruled that a useful life waiver request required submission of a statement from a duly licensed engineer or architect certifying that the elevator needed to be replaced because of an emergency that caused the building or any part of it to be dangerous to human life and safety or detrimental to health. The sale rep's statement failed to meet this requirement.

BSF 548 West 164th Street Holding, LLC: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. GR430013RO (4/8/22)[2-pg. document]