Wife Who'd Lived with Tenant Before Divorce Entitled to Pass-On Rights

Rent-stabilized tenant complained of rent overcharge. She claimed that she was entitled to succession rights when her husband moved out of the apartment, but landlord gave her a vacancy lease instead of a renewal lease. The DRA ruled for tenant, finding that she had proved succession rights and that she was overcharged a total of $314, including interest.

Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord argued that tenant, as prior tenant’s former spouse, wasn’t entitled to succession rights. Tenant and her husband were divorced since December 2007, so landlord was entitled to give tenant a vacancy lease. Tenant argued that she had lived in the apartment with her husband since the inception of his tenancy and had lived there for two years before he moved out and the couple’s divorce. But the DHCR found that tenant, as the spouse of prior tenant, would have been entitled to have her name added to any renewal lease in effect up to December 2007 when she got divorced. And tenant proved that she lived in the apartment as her primary residence for two years before the divorce judgment was entered. So tenant had succession rights.

195th St. LLC: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. ER110005RO (12/14/16) [4-pg. doc.]