Tenant and Family Member Concealed Tenant's 1998 Move-Out

Landlord sued to evict a family member after rent-stabilized tenant moved out of the apartment. The family member claimed succession rights. The court ruled for the family member. Landlord appealed and won. Tenant moved out of the apartment in March 1998 without notifying landlord. Tenant continued to pay the rent in her name by money orders and signed all renewal leases through October 2005. Tenant therefore didn’t permanently vacate the apartment until that time. There could be no showing that tenant’s family member lived in the apartment with tenant between November 2003 and October 2005, the two-year period before tenant permanently vacated, since it was admitted that tenant by then lived elsewhere. Tenant and her family member also deliberately concealed the fact that tenant had moved out in 1998 from landlord for eight years. So any succession claim was waived.

Third Lenox Terrace Associates v. Edwards: NYLJ, 4/2/09, p. 41, col. 4 (App. T. 1 Dept.; McKeon, PJ, Schoenfeld, Heitler, JJ)