Rent-Stabilized Tenants' Daughter Gets Apartment

The daughter of an apartment's rent-stabilized tenants, who were husband and wife, complained to the DHCR that landlord refused to offer her a renewal lease after tenants moved out in November 2019 when their last renewal lease expired. The daughter claimed succession rights. The DRA ruled for the daughter, finding that she proved she had lived with tenants in the apartment as her primary residence for at least two years immediately prior to the date tenants moved out.

Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord argued that it had sent tenants a notice of nonrenewal of their lease based on nonprimary residence in August 2019, before the daughter filed her DHCR complaint. Landlord said that the DHCR should have allowed the succession claim to be decided in court and that the DHCR had denied landlord due process. Landlord point out that, in other cases, the DHCR would hold similar complaints until the court results were issued. Landlord also argued that the daughter's proof of succession rights was insufficient.

Tenant pointed out that landlord's eviction proceeding was commenced after she filed her DHCR complaint and that the case was discontinued in June 2020. Landlord started a second eviction proceeding in March 2020 and tenant was contesting service of the petition in that case.

The DHCR noted that landlord was not denied due process but was given a full opportunity to respond to tenant's succession claim. Landlord failed to rebut tenant's proof that she lived in the apartment with tenants for the required time period. The DHCR also had concurrent jurisdiction with the court to decide this question. Filing the court proceeding, by itself, didn't bar the DHCR from ruling on the daughter's complaint, and the court didn't stay the DHCR from acting. 

865 First, LLC: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. IS410012RO (10/1/20) [7-pg. doc.]