Tenant's Son Gets Interim Lease Program Apartment

Landlord held the net lease to a building owned by the City of New York under the Tenant Interim Lease program and sued to evict tenant's son after tenant died in 2008. Landlord claimed that the son was a licensee no longer entitled to remain in the apartment. The son claimed succession rights and said that he had lived in the apartment with tenant since 2003. Landlord claimed that succession rights didn't apply to this type of housing and that HPD had authorized the eviction. After trial, the court ruled for the son. The son was entitled to apply to become the head of the household under the building's bylaws. Although HPD had authorized landlord to commence the eviction proceeding, the son got no meaningful opportunity at HPD to address landlord's claims and received no notice of any HPD determination. So the son was permitted to oppose landlord in housing court. The son was in occupancy under tenant's lease, and the lease was unclear as to how it should be interpreted. The court found that the intent of the apartment lease was to permit family members to become the head of the household upon a tenant's death and that such permission couldn't be unreasonably withheld or withheld without cause. The son was entitled to become the tenant.

408 East 10th Street Tenants Association v. Hernandez: 36 Misc.3d 1210(A), 2012 NY Slip Op 51247(U) (Civ. Ct. NY; 7/10/12; Kraus, J)