A member of the tenant’s immediate family, who has resided with the tenant in a rent regulated apartment, may be entitled to succeed to the tenant’s rent controlled or rent stabilized apartment after the tenant has permanently vacated the apartment.
A tenant’s family member is defined as a husband, wife, son, daughter, father, mother, grandmother, grandfather, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law and daughter-in-law of the tenant. A family member claiming succession rights, after the tenant vacates the apartment, or upon the tenant’s death, must show that he or she occupied the apartment, with the tenant, as a primary residence, for a period of two years prior to the tenant’s departure. This period is reduced to one year for senior citizens, 62 years of age or older, and for those who are disabled.
Succession rights have been extended to nontraditional family members. The regulations define a nontraditional family member as a person who has resided with the tenant, as a primary resident, and who shares an emotional and financial commitment and interdependence with the tenant. Among the factors that are relevant in proving this relationship are (I) longevity of the relationship, (ii) a sharing of household expenses, (iii) an intermingling of finances, (iv) formalization of legal obligations, and (v) proof that the nontraditional family member and tenant engaged in family-type activities.