pages: RentReviewAdvisoryCommittee/2018-08-29.pdf, 5
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RentReviewAdvisoryCommittee | 2018-08-29 | 5 | Approved Minutes August 29, 2018 Member Sullivan-Cheah and Vice Chair Murray reflected back Ms. Walters' points. She added that during a time when she was healing from a car accident a neighbor above her made a lot of noise that disturbed her as she was medicated and trying to heal. Mr. Kessler confirmed that the owners had obtained a loan for the property on which they were paying interest. He said his family acquired the property in the late 1970's. Mr. St. John stated that Ms. Walters had rent credits in the amount of about $10,000 during the construction to alleviate the burdens the construction caused. Ms. Walters said she thought the rent she was paying was still excessive given how hard it was to live in her apartment. Mr. St. John gave the Committee members a document rebutting the concerns the tenant raised in her Form RP-01. Ms. Leonard summarized the document. Ms. Walters said she thought an increase of about 5%, to about $1,575 from $1,495, would be reasonable. She said she would love to have some things in her apartment attended to, such as on her balcony and in her bathtub. Chair Cambra again asked Mr. St. John if he was willing to compromise on the amount of the increase and Mr. St. John again said no. Mr. St. John reiterated that the landlords already made compromises in coming to the increase amounts that they did. Member Sullivan-Cheah said that he looks at cases individually, and does not set out to make compromises uniformly across all cases. Chair Cambra said the Committee makes efforts to express a rationale for their decisions to ensure that parties do not think the decisions are arbitrary. The parties took their seats and the Committee members deliberated. Member Sullivan-Cheah requested clarity from the other members about how landlords calculate increases and compensation during renovations. He said that he acknowledged that Ms. Walters said she would be able to afford a modest increase if she took on additional shifts at her work. Chair Cambra said he thought the CAPX amount ($93.89) provided by the landlords or a little more would be reasonable. Vice Chair Murray acknowledged that Ms. Walters had a fixed income and health concerns that would limit her ability to take on too much additional work. She said it was important to both treat cases individually and also be evenhanded in their treatment of each. She said an increase of $95 to $110 would be a reasonable range. Page 5 of 9 | RentReviewAdvisoryCommittee/2018-08-29.pdf |