Failing to notify a landlord that a tenant had vacated her apartment to live in a long-term care facility before her death does not prevent the tenant's grandson from claiming his rights to the apartment, a Manhattan Housing Court judge has ruled.

According to Judge Michael Weisberg's decision in Elk 300 E. 83rd LLC v. Dowd, 59258/11, Rosemary Dowd left her rent-controlled, Upper East Side apartment in July 2008, when she was admitted into Kateri Residence. She never returned to the apartment.

Dowd was initially admitted to rehabilitate from a broken hip but was eventually transferred to the facility's dementia unit for long-term care.