Vacancy Increase Charged to First Successor Tenant Was Improper

Tenant complained of rent overcharge because landlord charged her a vacancy increase when she got succession rights. Landlord claimed that tenant had no succession rights. The court ruled for tenant. Landlord appealed and lost. Tenant clearly proved that she lived in the apartment as her primary residence for at least two years as her primary residence before her mother, the prior rent-stabilized tenant, moved out. Tenant submitted tax records, Con Edison correspondence, cable TV statements, bank statements, a credit report, and her daughter's school records, all listing the apartment as her address. Because tenant had succession rights, landlord wasn't allowed to include a vacancy increase in the first lease issued in tenant's name. 

Langsam Property Services Corp.: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. AR410025RO (11/3/14) [3-pg. doc.]