MCI Rent Hike Granted for New Boiler
LVT Number: #22311
Landlord applied for MCI rent hikes based on the installation of a new boiler. The DHCR ruled for landlord. Tenants appealed to the court. They claimed that DHCR's decision was arbitrary and unreasonable. The court ruled against tenants. Tenants claimed that the old boiler needed repair, not replacement, and therefore, the new boiler didn't qualify for an MCI rent hike. The new boiler installation was a major capital improvement. And even if the useful life of the old boiler hadn't expired, the DHCR reasonably granted the rent hike since no prior MCI rent hike had been granted or collected for a boiler installation.
Ghiggeri v. DHCR: NYLJ, 11/25/09, p. 26, col. 1 (Sup. Ct. NY; Edmead, J)