No MCI Increase for Stucco and Waterproofing Without Pointing

Landlord applied for MCI rent hikes based on pointing and waterproofing. The DRA ruled against landlord because no pointing work was done. Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord claimed that the application of stucco was an adequate substitute for pointing. But waterproofing by itself doesn’t qualify as an MCI since it's merely the application of a sealing material and therefore less extensive and less structural than pointing. For buildings that are part stucco and part brick, DHCR policy requires that the brick portion of the building be pointed in addition to resurfacing 100 percent of the stucco portion. In this case, landlord didn’t perform pointing to the front-facing brick portion of the building.

Kingdom Crescent Realty: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. CU110034RO (7/29/16) [2-pg. doc.]