Landlord Must Offer Tenant Renewal Lease That Includes Wife's Name

Rent-stabilized tenant complained that landlord refused to add the name of tenant's spouse to his lease. Tenant submitted a copy of his 2007 marriage certificate. Landlord objected, saying that a family member could live in the apartment but didn't have to be added to the lease. The DRA ruled for tenant and ordered landlord to add the wife to the lease.

Landlord and tenant both appealed. Tenant claimed that landlord didn't offer a renewal lease during calendar year 2019. This wasn't grounds for a PAR since landlord was ordered to provide a proper renewal lease. Landlord argued that tenant lived with his dog and that he'd never seen tenant living with his spouse in the apartment. Landlord himself lived in the building. Tenant in response showed a 2014 court stipulation listing the wife as an apartment occupant.

The DHCR ruled against landlord. The DRA's decision was reasonable since the couple had been married since 2007 and it was reasonable to infer that they lived together in the apartment. Landlord's proof that the wife lived in two other locations in 2013 and 2014 didn't prove she wasn't living at the apartment in 2019. Tenant also presented other proof that the wife currently lived in the apartment.

Cortina/Wang: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket Nos. IN210011RT, IN210030RO (7/16/20) [3-pg. doc. ]