No MCI Increase for Roof That Leaked

Landlord applied for MCI rent hikes based on installation of a hot water heater supplier and installer, a burner, and a new roof. The DRA ruled for landlord in part, but denied any increase for the roof. The DHCR's inspector had reported that the roof installation was defective and not a complete replacement.

Landlord appealed and lost. The new roof had noticeable and multiple inconsistencies that resulted in a lack of watertightness in the ceilings and walls of the top-floor apartments. Water seepage through a newly installed roof is a material defect, and showed that the roof wasn't installed in a "workmanlike manner." Landlord's unsubstantiated claim that all bulkhead leaks and water damage to the top-floor ceilings were the result of recent "brickwork," and didn't stem from the new roof, was insufficient to change the DRA's decision. 

1005 Yankee Pride, LLC: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. GW630009RO (1/12/22)[2-pg. document]