Single-Ply Roof Installation Using New Technology Qualified as MCI

Landlord applied for MCI rent hikes based on installation of a new roof. The DRA ruled for landlord. Tenant appealed and lost. Tenant claimed that she didn't benefit directly from the roof work and that, at any rate, it was a maintenance repair rather than an MCI. The DHCR disagreed. The roof replacement contract specified that a layer of "Manville SBS standard colored roof membrane" was installed on the full square footage of the building's roof. Under DHCR Policy Statement No. 91-2, this type of single-ply installation using new technology materials qualified as an MCI. The DRA also conducted an inspection of the roof installation and found that the roof was completely replaced, prepared watertight, and was installed in a workmanlike manner. Also, while roof replacements immediately affected top-floor tenants, they also maintained a building-wide watertight condition and protected the structural integrity of a building as a whole. Therefore, all tenants benefitted from the MCI.

Elsayed: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. JX230010RT (10/3/23)[2-pg. document]