Tenant’s Daughter Can’t Get Rent-Stabilized Apartment

Rent-stabilized tenant’s daughter complained to the DHCR that landlord refused to give her a renewal lease after tenant died in May 2013. The daughter claimed that she had lived in the apartment with tenant since 1974 and that her name had been on prior leases. The daughter submitted a copy of a July 1998 renewal lease signed by both tenant and the daughter. Landlord claimed that the daughter had moved out of the apartment long before tenant died and was now improperly seeking succession rights. The DRA ruled against the daughter, finding that she submitted insufficient proof that she had lived in the apartment for two years immediately prior to tenant’s death. The daughter appealed and lost. A library card submitted by the daughter contained no address. A driver’s license issued in October 2011 didn’t cover the period dating back to May 2011. A statement from a friend of the daughter’s wasn’t a sworn affidavit. A January 2011 AT&T bill pre-dated the relevant period, as did the January 2003 juror certificate and high school records. The daughter admitted that she had no utility bills or tax records in her name during the relevant period. 

Connolly: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. CR210049RT (5/13/15) [5-pg. doc.]