Rent board advances completeness-check plan for MNOI applications: affidavit, thresholds tied to CPI and rental-history cards proposed

Kristen, a Rent Board member, and Matt Lacks, a board member working on procedures, presented a draft completeness‑check for MNOI (net operating income) applications at a February workshop and asked the board for policy direction on affidavit language, documentation thresholds and workflow changes for staff review.

The nut of the discussion: board members and staff want to reduce incomplete or inconsistent submissions and speed case processing by clarifying what documentation is required up front. The proposals include adding an applicant affidavit, requiring clearer year‑by‑year historical NOI figures, using a percentage threshold tied to CPI to trigger required receipts, and providing a simple “rental history card” to show base rent, allowed increases and banked increases.

Kristen said the completeness-check is intended “to create a process where applicants using the MNOI form can be more complete, earlier on in their application,” so the board can spend less time requesting missing documents and more time on substantive hearings. The draft includes an affidavit (language drawn from external guidance) placed near the signature line that would make applicants affirm the accuracy of submitted data.

Board discussion focused on three linked issues: thresholds for when documentary proof is required, the statutory base year to use in MNOI calculations, and how much of the tax/expense detail to ask for routinely.

On thresholds,…