No Vacancy Allowance When Apartment Passed on to Relative

Landlord sued to evict rent-controlled tenant for nonprimary residence. Although tenant had moved out before 1997, her nephew proved that he had pass-on rights to the apartment because he had lived with tenant for at least two years before she moved out. Landlord claimed that he was entitled to collect a vacancy increase from the nephew because he was the second successive tenant to get pass-on rights. The apartment was originally rented in 1949 to rent-controlled tenants who passed the apartment on to their daughter. It was the daughter who moved out before 1997 and passed the apartment on to her nephew. The court ruled against landlord. The rent control law was amended in June 1997 to allow landlords to charge a vacancy increase to the second successive tenant to get pass-on rights. But this section applies only when all tenants occupying the apartment on the effective date of the law have moved out. The nephew had moved in before the new law took effect, so the landlord can't collect the vacancy increase until after the nephew moves out.

Vartarian v. Brady: NYLJ, p. 27, col. 6 (9/29/99) (Civ. Ct. NY; Billings, J)