Tenant's Mother Gets Rent-Stabilized Apartment

Rent-stabilized tenant's mother complained that landlord refused to give her a renewal lease after tenant moved out of the apartment. Landlord claimed that the mother had no succession rights. The DRA ruled for tenant's mother. Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord claimed that tenant renewed her lease in September 2009, that landlord remained unaware of tenant's absence until mid-2011, and that when landlord learned that tenant had moved out, it refused to renew the lease in 2011. But there was no long-term fraud by tenant. Tenant had moved out only three years before her mother claimed succession, and tenant signed only one lease renewal after moving out. Tenant's mother claimed that she believed that tenant had informed landlord when she moved out. Tenant's mother, a senior citizen, otherwise submitted proof that she had lived in the apartment as her primary residence together with tenant for at least one year before tenant moved out. Therefore, tenant's mother had succession rights to the apartment.

Georgetown Leasing, LLC: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. BR210010RO (11/20/13) [3-pg. doc.]