Tenant's Grandson Gets Apartment After J-51 Benefits Expire

Landlord asked the DHCR to determine whether tenant’s apartment was rent stabilized. The building contained four apartments, and prior landlord had obtained J-51 tax benefits when landlord bought the building. But landlord claimed that the J-51 benefits had expired. NYC Department of Finance records showed that the building received J-51 benefits from 1991 to 2002 and that the benefits had since expired. The DRA ruled for landlord and found that the apartment was no longer rent stabilized because the current tenant wasn’t in occupancy when the J-51 expired.

Tenant appealed and won.  Tenant claimed that he was the grandson of the prior tenant and became entitled to succession rights when she died in 2004. Tenant had submitted some proof of this claim to the DRA. The DHCR now accepted additional proof submitted by the grandson and reopened the case for reconsideration by the DRA. The grandson claimed that he had lived in the apartment all of his life, and the documentation he submitted supported that claim.

Ison: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. AV110031RT (4/30/14) [3-pg. doc.]