Landlord—Tenant—Rent Stabilization—Succession—Although Tenant and Family Members May Have Purposefully Misled the NYC Dep't of Finance for Several Years, That Did Not by Itself Defeat Succession Rights

A landlord commenced a holdover proceeding involving a rent stabilized apartment, on the grounds that the respondents were licensees of the tenant of record, who had died on June 27, 2011. Four respondents appeared and argued that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction, because the landlord had “failed to serve upon the respondents a notice to quit” and that the petition failed “to state a cause of action,” since there was no basis to terminate their tenancy “as they have succession rights.”

The court explained that inquiries in succession cases “are narrowly limited to a clearly defined finite time period which is a two-year period immediately preceding the tenant's of record's death” and people claiming succession rights have “the burden of proof to demonstrate by a fair preponderance of the evidence that they are the remaining family member as defined by the statute….” 9 NYCRR Section 25 20.6(n). All people “qualifying in a successor relationship to the tenant of record may assert succession” rights since succession is not limited to one family member. Additionally, “family members seeking succession are under no obligation to notify the landlord of their presence during the lifetime of the tenant of record….”