MCI Increase Denied Due to Outstanding Rent Reduction Order

Landlord applied for MCI rent hikes based on pointing and waterproofing. The DRA ruled against landlord based on outstanding rent reduction orders for the building. Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord claimed that the order in question didn't reduce rents but merely directed landlord to make specific repairs. But landlord had filed an application to restore rents in connection with the rent reduction order. This application was denied because not all conditions had been corrected. Landlord's PAR of the order denying rent restoration also had been denied. The DRA correctly applied DHCR policy to landlord's MCI application. The existence of a rent reduction order barred the granting of an MCI rent increase. This was true even if no tenant raised the issue while landlord's MCI application was pending or if it went undetected in prior DHCR proceedings.

33 William Street Assoc., Ltd.: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. BQ910049RO (6/20/14) [3-pg. doc.]