MCI Rent Increase for a Rent Control Tenant

[Misi]

What is the name of your state? New York

I'm a small landlord in Brooklyn, New York and I'm trying to figure out if there is a time limit on applying for an MCI on a rent controlled tentant (not stablized). In 2001 I resurfaced the exterior of our brownstone and I now want to file for the MCI rent increase. (I couldn't do it before because there were old violations in the basement of the building that first had to be cleared at a cost of over $10,000 and which did not affect her at all!) Anyhow, the counselor at the New York City Department of Housing and Community Renewal says that under the 2005 Amendments to the Rent Regulations City Rent and Eviction Regulations a new 2 year time limit upon the completion of the work has been applied to filing for an MCI on a rent regulated tenanat. (See Subchapter D of Chapter VII of Subtitle S of Title 9 NYCRR, Part 2202, 4(vi))

Section 4 vi) says "no increase pursuant to subdivisions (b), (c), (d) and (e) of this section shall be granted unless an application is filed no later than two years after the completion of the installation or improvement."

I read the law as saying that the 2 year limit is effected under b,c,d, and e, which deal with when a landlord seeks a waiver of the waiver of the useful life requirement (meaning you've replaced the item before the expiration of its useful life). I'm not doing that so there should be no time limit. Any thoughts? Below I've provided a link to the law at issue. Thanks in advance.

http://www.dhcr.state.ny.us/ora/pubs/html/2005crer.htm

 

[FlyingRon]

Nope, you've got that wrong. You're looking at the wrong pieces.
Subdivisions (b), (c), (d), and (e) are the ones that start:

(b) there has been, since March 1, 1959, an increase in the rental value...
(c) (1) there has been a major capital improvement, ...
(d) there has been, since March 1, 1959, ...
(e) the landlord has incurred, since January 1, 1970, ...

not the items in (c) (1) (v)

2202.4 is the section
next come the subdivisions (a), (b), ...
next come the paragraphs (1), (2), ...
next come the subparagraphs (i), (ii), ...
then clause (a), (b), ...

 

[Misi]

Question for Flying Ron

Are we looking at the same law? I just did a word search for "1959" and that does not appear in the law that I provided the link to? Here's the link again:

http://www.dhcr.state.ny.us/ora/pubs/html/2005crer.htm

 

[Misi]

Follow Up to Question to Flying Ron

The way I read it, 2204 Section 4 reads as follows:

Section 4

A new section 2202.27 is adopted to read as follows:

2202.27 Surcharges for submetered electricity or other utility service.

Where a landlord acts as a provider of a utility service (including, but not limited to electricity, gas, cable, or telecommunications), the landlord may collect surcharges which shall not be part of the maximum rent, and shall not be subject to this Subchapter.

Last updated on 10/12/05

Could one of us be looking at the wrong law? thx.

 

[FlyingRon]

The problem is the link you posted isn't the regulation, it's the bill ammending the regulation.

The thing you quoted in your last response has nothing to do with section 4, it's section 27.

Here is a link to a site with the complete 2202 section 4 (which includes the modifications passed in the 2005 act that you were looking at).

Read that and go back and look at my response.

http://www.metcouncil.net/factsheets/9NYCRR2200-2211.html#2202.4

 

[Misi]

Thanks Ron

I looked at the law and reluctantly conclude you're probably right. However, it's very unfair because the NYDHCR has a website with a fact sheet that explicitly says there is no time limit on getting an MCI increase for rent controlled tenants. It's still up there and it was revised in 2006, after the law was passed. Talk about making it hard for a small landlord, my tenant pays $240 a month for a six room apartment in Park Slope and I've put over $60,000 into the building and now I still can't get an increase. Here's a link to the fact sheet.

http://www.dhcr.state.ny.us/ora/pubs/html/orafac24.htm

 

[FlyingRon]

If your property hadn't been in violation, you would have been able to apply within the 2 year period (which is mentioned in that fact sheet by the way).

 

[Misi]

Flying Ron

Not to belabor the point here, but all the violations had nothing to do with my rent controlled tenant. She lives on the fourth floor and the previous landlord had renovated the basement in violation of the code. But all the things he had done, like take out the dumb waiter in the basement were the type of violations that just didn't matter to anyone living in the building. Nonetheless, I had to pay $10,000 to fix them, but first elected to do things like resurfacing the brownstoning because it was leaking into the building ($36,000), putting in a new front door ($10,000), and a new chimney ($12,000), again because of a leak. As my funds are finite, I waited on doing things that didn't matter - the dumb waiter which was no longer being used, and now I can't get an increase even though I put over $60,000 into my four unit building. Plus, I was told that I could eventually file for these MCI increases as there was time limit. Meanwhile, my rent controlled tenant gets the benefit of all that and won't have to contribute a dime. Her rent doesn't even cover the heat for her apartment let alone all the maintenance and repairs. It's SO UNFAIR. Thanks for your time.