Common Law Husband Gets Rent-Controlled Apartment

Apartment occupant claimed succession rights in a DHCR complaint after rent-controlled tenant moved out of the apartment. The DRA ruled for occupant and found he was a nontraditional family member. Landlord appealed and lost. Occupant showed that he lived in the apartment with tenant for at least two years during 2003 and 2004 before she moved out, submitting tax returns, wage statements, insurance policies, and notarized letters from two neighbors. Occupant also showed that he had lived in the apartment with tenant as common law husband and wife since the 1970s. Tenant moved out of the apartment in 2005 when she retired and moved to Alabama to care for her aging parents. And occupant's payment of rent under tenant's name after tenant moved out didn't bar him from succession rights if he otherwise qualified.

569 Empire, LLC: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. BW220021RO (4/6/17) [7-pg. doc.]