Tenant's Husband Didn't Prove Co-occupancy

Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant's husband after tenant moved out of the apartment. The husband claimed succession rights. The trial court ruled for landlord. The husband appealed and lost, then appealed to a higher court. The Appellate Division ruled against the husband. Tenant moved to Florida in the early 1990s. After tenant vacated, the husband continued to sign tenant's name on renewal leases, money orders for rent payments, and apartment work orders. In 2013, tenant sent landlord a letter stating that she was moving out and that she had lived in the apartment with her husband since 1980. But, since the husband couldn't show that he had lived with tenant in the apartment for at least two years before she actually moved out in the 1990s, he couldn't establish co-occupancy in the relevant time period needed to establish succession rights. Under the circumstances, the court stated that it didn't need to consider whether there was any waiver by landlord.

Matter of 186 Norfolk LLC v. Euvin: App. No. 13261, Case No. 2019-01400, 2021 NY Slip Op 01317 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 3/4/21; Kern, JP, Oing, Singh, Moulton, JJ)