Landlord's Proof of Individual Apartment Improvements Was Sufficient

Rent-stabilized tenant complained of rent overcharge. The DRA ruled against tenant, finding no overcharge. Tenant appealed and lost. Landlord disputed landlord's documentation of individual apartment improvements (IAIs). Tenant claimed that landlord didn't submit all the proof required by DHCR Operational Bulletin 2016-1, and that landlord's super performed the work through the super's contracting company. The DHCR found that, since the IAS were done prior to issuance of Operational Bulletin 2016-1, the guidelines set forth in former DHCR Policy Statement 90-10 would be applied to this case. That policy statement required landlord to submit at least one of the following: cancelled checks, a contemporaneous invoice receipt marked "paid in full," a signed contract agreement, and a contractor's sworn statement that the work was completed and paid for in full. Since landlord submitted invoices and cancelled checks, it submitted sufficient proof of the IAIs. Landlord also had discounted $5,000 from the claimed IAI costs, which represented work done by the super's contracting company.

Bergman: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. FP410034RT (9/20/17) [4-pg. doc.]