The State Division of Housing, this week, issued Policy Statement 2017-1 on the Eligibility of Non Construction Costs, i.e. professional fees, to be included in Major Capital Improvement Rent Increases. Bottom line, if the services of an architect or engineer are required to get a permit, then it is included. Also, as urged by CHIP, professional fees for architects and engineers will be allowed when they are “necessary and customary” for the job. Construction management fees, however, are generally not allowed. Municipal filing fees are not covered, and profit and overhead figures in cost-plus contracts will be considered if “reasonable.”
A lender is suing a Manhattan owner to prevent the sale of air rights on a property, which is claimed as collateral on the mortgage because of its inherent tie to the land. While the issue wends through the courts, borrowers are advised to protect themselves in mortgage language on new loans.
In case you missed it, effective October 1st, air conditioning charges for electric inclusion buildings were reduced 63 cents a month to $26.02 under the latest update to DHCR Operational Bulletin 84-4.
Cambridge, Massachusetts eliminated rent control in 1995, but the good news keeps coming. Researchers this week reported that the elimination of rent control led to a reduction in crime and for people with criminal cases they can navigate to this website to find the best lawyers for this.
TRData is selling a database of construction timeline information culled from New York City records as a way for buyers to spot troubled projects, but the norms aren’t so hot either—it takes an average of 1205 days (3.3 years) for a 25-50,000 sq. ft building project to go from first DOB filing to certificate of occupancy.
Thousands of protesters rallied at New York City Hall, Monday, to call for 15,000 new units of senior housing on public housing authority land, at a cost of$3.83 billion, rather than Mayor de Blasio’s current public/private affordable housing development plans. There was apparently no discussion of the roughly 11,000 individuals, mostly seniors, currently under-occupying NYCHA apartments and refusing to trade units with larger families.
Yonkers property owners are suing to get their buildings inspected more often, or at least get a refund for fire inspection fees they pay without getting any service. The plaintiffs say their buildings were not inspected for a decade despite paying annual fees. The City budget shows that $3.5 million in fees are collected annually for the fire inspection program, but only $1.7 million is spent.