Tenant Proved Succession Rights to Mother's Rent-Stabilized Apartment

After a rent-stabilized tenant died in 2019, landlord offered the remaining apartment occupant a new lease that included vacancy and longevity rent increases. The new tenant claimed that he was a successor tenant and complained to the DHCR of a specific rent overcharge based on the vacancy and longevity rent increases. The DRA ruled for tenant, finding him to be a second successor tenant. Since, under HSTPA, effective June 14, 2019, landlord was barred from collecting vacancy and longevity increases, it was prohibited from collecting them from tenant. And, since the new tenant didn't pay these increases, no overcharge was collected.

Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord argued that the new tenant didn't have succession rights as a remaining family member, and that landlord correctly offered him a vacancy lease prior to the June 14, 2019, effective date of HSTPA. The DHCR found that tenant had presented proof to the DRA that he had succession rights to the apartment as a remaining family member who had lived in the unit with the prior tenant for the requisite qualifying period. So the DRA correctly prohibited landlord from collecting vacancy and longevity increase from the new tenant. In any event, landlord stated it wouldn't charge those increases to tenant.

Arbern Caton Towers Assoc., LLC: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. LT210001RO (12/19/23)[3-pg. document]