No Additional A/C Surcharge Permitted

Landlord asked the DHCR for permission to increase rent-controlled tenant's rent based on tenant's installation of two air conditioners that extended beyond the window line. The DRA ruled against landlord, who appealed and lost. DHCR records showed that landlord previously obtained rent increases for tenant's air conditioners in 1961 and 1968. Landlord argued that the prior increases were $2 per unit and that the surcharge should be updated to the current DHCR allowance of $5 per unit. But DHCR Operational Bulletin 84-4 permits a surcharge of $5 per air conditioner for units installed on or after Oct. 1, 1985. The Operational Bulletin provides that prior agency practices govern the amount of the surcharge for units installed before that date. There was no dispute that the units in question were installed before 1985. So the DRA correctly dismissed landlord's application.

Manhattan Holding LLC: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. AU420015RO (10/16/12) [2-pg. doc.]