Security Cameras Installed by Cooperative Qualified as MCI

Landlord applied for MCI rent hikes based on installation of security cameras at the building. The DRA ruled for landlord and increased rents. Tenants appealed and lost. They argued that the building's cooperative corporation paid for the improvement and that the security cameras weren't monitored. But the fact that the cost of the MCI was paid by the co-op corporation and that there was no special assessment to co-op shareholders wasn't grounds for denying the MCI. It was long-standing DHCR policy that the holder of co-op shares allocated to rent-regulated units can obtain an MCI rent increase for qualifying improvements that the co-op paid for. In addition, installation of a CCTV security system qualified as an MCI if the system monitored all building entrances on a continuous basis. There was no requirement that the system's video output be watched by a live person 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The presence of the security camera system itself acted as a deterrent to intruders and thus inured to the tenants' benefit.

Dorch: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. GP910002RT (6/17/19) [1-pg. doc.]