Tenant's Son Fails to Prove Succession Rights

A rent-stabilized tenant's son complained to the DHCR that landlord refused to offer him a renewal lease after tenant moved out of the apartment. The DRA ruled against the son, who appealed and lost. The DRA had requested proof that tenant permanently vacated the apartment, evidence showing the son's relationship to the tenant, and documentation such as utility bills, tax filings, etc., with the son's name to show that he had primarily resided in the apartment for at least two years before tenant permanently departed. The son then submitted copies of his birth certificate, an ID card from the Mexican Consular, direct deposit pay stubs with his name and address, and a translated general power of attorney given to him by the tenant. But the submitted proof failed to establish that tenant permanently vacated the apartment. The power of attorney merely entitled the son to act in lieu of tenant when tenant wasn't around. Nothing else in the record proved that tenant permanently left the apartment in 2014. So the pay stubs in the son's name from 2011 and 2012 didn't prove anything relevant.

Vazquez: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. LV410025RT (1/11/24)[2-pg. document]