Rent-Controlled Tenant's Son Was First, Not Second, Successor Tenant

Rent-controlled tenant complained of rent overcharge. Landlord claimed that tenant was a second successor tenant and that it therefore was entitled to collect a vacancy increase from the tenant. The DRA found that the maximum collectible rent (MCR) for the apartment was $1,093 effective March 1, 2019, that there was no succession issue because the tenant of record hadn't permanently vacated the apartment, and that any fuel cost adjustment (FCA) that landlord may have been entitled to collect wasn't included in the MCR calculation. Landlord appealed and lost. In October 2009, the successor tenant's mother became a permanent tenant of the apartment under court stipulation. Given her rights as a tenant, not a successor-tenant, her son would be a first successor tenant, not a successor tenant, if tenant moved out of the apartment.

Scaldafiore Realty Corp.: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. HU120002RO (10/28/19) [2-pg. doc.]