Water Stains on Garage Ceiling

Tenants complained of a reduction in building-wide services. They claimed that there were water stains in the building garage near three parking spaces. The DRA ruled for tenants and reduced their rents. Landlord appealed, claiming that there were no active water leaks, that the condition didn't affect tenants' use of their apartments, and that the water stains were a minor condition that didn't warrant rent reductions. The DHCR ruled against landlord. Landlord's own engineer's report stated that there was a continuous crack and stain on the garage ceiling over the three parking spaces in question. This wasn't a minor condition. A garage roof leak apparently caused water seepage above the three parking spaces and into the garage in general. Notably, landlord recently was granted an MCI rent hike for installing a new garage roof.

Samson Mgmt. Corp.: DHCR Adm. Rev. Dckt. No. RL710005RO (2/27/04) [3-pg. doc.]