Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Succession: what you need, and the process.

The room was packed as Jodi Brockington and Sue Susman presented Succession Rights 101 for tenants in rent stabilized apartments.   Here's a summary: 

SUCCESSION BASICS
Taking over the rent stabilized lease in your own name.* 

IN ADVANCE, 

MAKE IT EASIER FOR YOUR FAMILY MEMBER(s) TO TAKE OVER THE LEASE IF YOU LEAVE:

The tenant named on the lease should list those living in the apartment too on every lease renewal. (SCRIE and DRIE tenants:  those people are part of your household and their income counts toward the $50,000 annual limit.)

The tenant named on the lease should fill out DHCR Form 23.5 and send it to Stellar by certified mail, return receipt requested.  (If you have already done this, you don't have to do it again unless your household composition changes.) Staple the return receipt form, once it comes back, to the copy you have kept of the Form.  Give it to the family member(s) living with you who may want to take over ("succeed to") the lease if you are no longer living in the apartment. 

Keep a big box or envelope in which you place copies of all documents you might need in the future to prove succession rights - such as birth certificate, marriage certificate, driver's license, tax returns, jury summons, etc.  

ONCE THE TENANT NAMED ON THE LEASE LEAVES (OR DIES), TO TAKE OVER THE LEASE THE FAMILY (or "FAMILY-LIKE") MEMBER MUST:

PROVE 4 THINGS:

  1. The tenant named on the lease is leaving or has left permanently. 

  2. You have a family (or family-like) relationship with that tenant.  (If you are not actually related by blood or marriage, or are an aunt, uncle, cousin, nephew or niece, please contact a lawyer - or one of the tenant association's executive committee members to get help.)

  3. You have lived with that tenant in that apartment for the past two years (only 1 year if you yourself are a senior or disabled).

  4. You can afford to pay the rent.


TO HELP YOU PROVE THOSE THINGS:


-    Click here for a link to Stellar's own document list. (You will probably be asked for only those items that apply to your situation.) 

-   Get a big envelope or box and put all needed documents (or at least copies) in there as you get them.

-    Government documents and bank statements are the best proof.

-   Send anything related to Succession to Stellar Management by certified mail, return receipt requested.  Don’t send  your original documents.

BE CAREFUL:

  -   Stellar’s cameras (installed in the summer of 2017) can show if someone lives there or not.

  -   If the tenant on the lease had SCRIE or DRIE or Section 8, your rent will go up a lot unless you can prove you too qualify for that subsidy.   If the tenant on the lease gets SCRIE or DRIE now, your income counts as part of the household total which can't be more than $50,000.

  -    You may need to hire a lawyer - particularly if Stellar takes you to court.  Even if you don’t qualify for a free lawyer, it is worth it!  

THE PROCESS

1. Write a letter to Stellar (adapt the sample letter) stating that the tenant named on the lease has left the apartment permanently and that you would like to succeed to the rent stabilized lease in your own name.  Include Stellar's information sheet with a copy of all the documents that would prove the 4 things for your own situation.  Send it by certified mail, return receipt requested.   (Once you get it back, staple the return receipt to your own copy.)  


  ®  Stellar may ask for more information, which you can supply, or
  ®   Stellar may grant your request, or
  ®   Stellar may ignore your request and refuse to accept your rent checks.  In that case prepare for the next step. 

2.  Going to court  IF Stellar takes you to court, get a lawyer.  
If your income is low, you have a right to a free lawyer.   If you don't qualify, you may still get legal help from 
   (a) Goddard Riverside's Law Project, 
   (b) Mobilization for Justice  (includes lawyers helping those with mental disabilities) 
   (c) Assembly Member Daniel O'Donnell's office
   (d) Housing Conservation Coordinators,  
   (e) NYC Bar Association, or 
   (f) this list provided by Housing Court Answers
   (g) LawHelpNY.org.  

     At worst, find the Housing Court Answers desk at the court and ask your questions.  Bring all your original documents with you to the court. Work with a lawyer to persuade a judge that you are indeed entitled to take over the lease in your own name.

3. If at court Stellar agrees (or the court orders Stellar) to consider your succession to the lease in your own name, make sure to submit all the documents Stellar requests - that your lawyer says are reasonable.  Then wait for the lease. Have your lawyer help you.

4. Once you get the lease in your name, check the rent amount.  Find out whether you qualify for SCRIE or DRIE, which will freeze the rent at its current level. 
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* This website does not provide LEGAL advice.  This is overall information available to the public.  Please consult a lawyer for legal advice.