Certificate of Eviction Not Required

Facts: Landlord sued to evict apartment occupant after rent-controlled tenant died. Landlord claimed occupant was a licensee. The court dismissed the case because landlord hadn't first gotten a certificate of eviction from the DHCR. Landlord appealed. Court: Landlord wins. Even if occupant will claim a relationship with tenant entitling him to pass-on rights, that hasn't been established yet. Therefore landlord wasn't required to get a certificate of eviction. The rent control regulations do state that the DHCR shall not issue an order granting a certificate of eviction where the criteria for pass-on rights have been established. But this doesn't prevent a court from determining the issue of whether occupant has pass-on rights. Certificates of eviction are required where landlord seeks to renovate or demolish the building, which are different types of cases.

Bromer v. Rosensweig: NYLJ, p. 27, col. 4 (8/7/95) (App. T. 1 Dept.; Parness, JP, Miller, Glen, JJ)