captial improvements

[tangerine]

i'm new here, please don't hate me... i tried searching your archives and couldn't find what i needed.

i'm in nyc, a coop owner in a small building with an even smaller # of rent stabilized tenants left from before we went coop. one is section 8.

if the roof caves in, for example, and we need a new one, we can assess tenants for this kind of expense, yes? as a capital improvement?

(really, please don't hate me. )

where can i find out this info?

[cardinalfang]

No, a property owner (such as a co-op) does not have the right to "assess" rent-stabilized tenants for the expense of repairs or capital improvements. A co-op's right to impose assessments on shareholders is pursuant to the co-op's by-laws and proprietary lease, neither of which applies to the RS tenants.

The rent regulations do have provisions for rent increases based on major capital improvements. 1/84 of the the cost of improvements that qualify as MCIs, prorated by number of rooms and by residential vs. commercial space, can be added to the RS tenant's monthly rent. This requires an application to the DHCR; it is not automatic.