Ask Altagracia: My mom is moving out of our rent-stabilized apartment. How do I take over the lease?
- You’ll need proof of your relationship and that you’ve lived together for two years
- Succession rights can’t be asserted in advance but you can start to gather proof
A rent-stabilized tenant can use a DHCR form to notify a landlord about family members who live with them that may be entitled to succession.
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My mother is moving out of our rent-stabilized apartment and I want to stay. How can I take over the lease?
If there is still some time before your mother leaves, you can ask the landlord to add you to the renewal lease. “If the landlord is happy to do this then it moots the problem entirely but if they refuse, it suggests you will have a fight on your hands,” said Altagracia Pierre-Outerbridge, attorney and founder of Outerbridge Law representing residential tenants, condo owners, and landlords.
If the landlord refuses to add you to the rent-stabilized renewal lease, you can file a complaint with the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR). If the landlord wants you out, it is highly likely there will be a legal case filed in housing court. This will either be an eviction proceeding against you, if your mother has already moved out, or a non-primary residence claim terminating your mother’s lease.
Succession is the process by which you can assert your rights to take over a rent-stabilized lease from a family member you’ve lived with for the past two years. “There are four important elements to succession—the vacate date, proof you are family members, that you have lived in the apartment for two years, and that you’ve lived there together,” Pierre-Outerbridge said.
Getting organized
Seeking legal advice for a succession claim is important because the law is complicated and even small mistakes in the process could cause you to lose a case that would otherwise go your way.
You can prepare paperwork in advance of your mother’s departure from the rent-stabilized apartment but you cannot assert your succession rights ahead of time. There is, however, a DHCR form a rent-stabilized tenant can use to give notice to the landlord of family members who live with them that may be entitled to succession.
“This provides a useful piece of contemporaneous evidence but you will still need to provide further documentation to assert your rights,” Pierre-Outerbridge said.
Establishing the vacate date
In building your case for succession, establishing the date your mother moved out is an important starting point. You will need to build your evidence from there. A death certificate provides a clear vacate date but sometimes people move out over several months. The vacate date will be a strategic decision if you end up in litigation.
“You will need to figure out what date you will plead as the last day—this will depend on what you can prove, and what will give you the best claim from among the possible choices,” Pierre-Outerbridge said. It is the tenant’s burden to prove the vacate date, so you need to settle on the date and work back from there in establishing your claim.
Evidence of familial relationship
DHCR provides a list of relationships that qualify for succession of a rent-stabilized apartment. Among these relationships are parent/child and grandparent/grandchild. Stepmother and stepchild relationships also fall into this category.
There are also non-traditional relationships where succession is allowed if two people cohabitate as a unit. “You would need to show evidence that, for example, you share finances, celebrate holidays together, care for one another, and act as family,” Pierre-Outerbridge said.
Evidence of romantic involvement is neither relevant nor permissible in court. “Statutory evidence of romantic or sexual relations is barred from consideration,” Pierre-Outerbridge said.
Proof of primary residence status
You will also need to prove you lived in the apartment with your mother. Having bills in your name will not be enough. “You need proof that you physically reside there—because you could be living in California and have your name on the bills,” Pierre-Outerbridge said.
Gathering proof of your residence at the apartment might include takeout receipts, package deliveries, the testimony of neighbors who’ve seen you around, proof you are a member of the nearby gym or church, or that you are at school locally, or it is where you are registered to vote. Tax returns are also important.
“If you file taxes in New Jersey it will be difficult to claim you’ve resided in a rent-stabilized apartment in the city,” Pierre-Outerbridge said.
The residency requirement has some exceptions, for example, if you have been temporarily away for school or for medical reasons. A relocation for work or military service would also be an exception to this rule. In addition, if the person asserting succession rights is disabled or at least 62 years of age, then the period for which you need to prove co-occupancy is only one year.
Altagracia Pierre-Outerbridge, Esq. is the owner of Outerbridge Law P.C, focusing primarily on tenant representation. The firm represents all sides in landlord-tenant litigation and transactional matters such as month-to-month holdovers, nuisance cases, licensee cases, harassment claims, repair cases, tenant buyouts, succession claims, DHCR overcharges and rent reductions and more. Pierre-Outerbridge has 15 years of experience litigating in Supreme, DHCR, and Housing Court. To submit a question for this column, click here. To contact Outerbridge Law P.C. directly, call 212-364-5612 or 877-OUTERBRIDGE, or schedule a meeting today.
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