Tenant's Son Can't Get Rent-Stabilized Apartment

Apartment occupant complained to the DHCR that he was the rent-stabilized tenant's son and that landlord refused to give him a renewal lease after tenant died. Landlord argued that the son moved into the apartment during the term of the tenant's 2020 two-year renewal lease. Landlord didn't believe that the son lived in the apartment for at least two years before tenant died. Tenant's driver's license, car registration, and voting record listed his address in New Windsor, NY. The DRA asked the son to submit tenant's death certificate, birth certificate, utility bills, rent checks/receipts, tax returns, school or medical records, and state photo ID. When the son failed to submit the requested information, the DRA dismissed the complaint.

The son appealed and lost. He claimed that he had submitted the records to the DRA and showed a date-stamped copy of a submission made to the DHCR's Office of Public Information at Gertz Plaza. Although the DHCR couldn't confirm receipt of this submission, it considered the documents on appeal. These included documentation that the son was over 62 years old. Still, the documents didn't prove that the son resided with tenant in the apartment for at least one year prior to tenant's death. The son's driver's license listed his daughter's address in New Windsor where the son admitted he cared for his grandchildren. 

Perez: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. KV210002RT (2/14/23)[3-pg. document]