Renewal Lease to Wife Doesn't Count as First Pass-on

Tenant moved into the apartment and signed a lease in 1966. Tenant and his wife signed a renewal lease in 1968. The apartment became rent stabilized when the law went into effect. After tenant died, his wife signed renewal leases. The wife died and tenants' daughter is entitled to pass-on rights. Landlord asked the DHCR if the daughter counted as the second successive pass-on so that landlord could collect a vacancy increase under the Rent Stabilization Code. In an opinion letter, the DHCR said no. The code makes it clear that the first successive pass-on doesn't happen until all tenants named in a lease have died or moved out. Since the wife was named in a lease when her husband died, there was no pass-on to the wife. So the daughter is the first successive pass-on tenant.

DHCR Opin. Ltr. by Charles Goldstein (9/27/01) [2-pg. doc.]