lease succession rights

[garyford]

OK, here's the story. Two years ago my girlfriend signed the lease for a rent stabalized appartment which we both shared. My name is not on the lease but from the begining the landlord knew i was living there. One year ago we split up and i still live there. I send rent checks to my ex and she sends her checks in to the managment. She wants off the lease and i want on. Heres the tricky part: the lease expired at the end of september and the landlord has not supplied a lease renewal. I sent him me check for october rent and it was returned saying that my name is not on the lease so they cannot accept my check. The old lease had a pref rent rider.

[subcriminal]

You need to have been living in that apartment with your girlfriend for 2 years total. No less, (unless u are a senior citizen, then the requirement gets cuts back to ONE year) anything less and you dont have a case for succession rights at all.

So if she signed the lease two years ago, and she moved out one year ago that sounds like you had been cohabiting for a total of one year. Correct?

Good luck.

[subcriminal]

You will also need to prove that there was a emotional realtionship "like" that of family or marriage. Any sharing of financial responsibility also needs to be proved. Succession rights are easier when you are a family member. Because if you aren't you need to prove the emotional and "family like" support you shared.

I hope you are still on good terms with your ex. Her testimony would help you in this case.

[garyford]

OK. That's good. sort of... I have utility bills in my name etc. but my drivers license is still upstate new york. How should i proceed though? the lease ran out last month. Does my ex still have legal responsability under that lease? should i just sit tight and try to force the landlord to take my check? Do i not pay anything? Who bears the responsability once the lease term is up? As i understand it the landlord can't begin eviction unless the lease renewal is refused by the tenant. And he also has to give 60 or 90 days notice. So what happens in the meantime if my ex does not want to send the landlord any more of her checks? I don't want to go to court. But i also cannot move at this time. thanks for the advice.

[TenantNet]

This is not a succession rights issue if you only cohabitated with her for one year in the unit. And even more, you would need to show you qualify for a non-traditional family, so the bar would be raised. There's info on succession rights on the web site - also look at housing court cases over the years. That she no longer is there gives rise to a non-primary residency case if the owner wishes to bring one -- although since the lease has already expired, it seems the owner has missed to notice period in order to commence a non-primary residence case (known as a Golub notice, it must be served at certain times - look it up). He could do an illegal sublet case though. Without succession rights, you're in a pickle. You might be able to get a vacancy lease (don't upset the apple cart now or the LL will go for a straight eviction). Adding a new name to a lease triggers a vacancy lease. But you could probably challenge the preferential rent issue once you have a lease, so do your homework on what the lease rent out to legally be. Do the homework now, but only challenge it once you have a lease. The other way around it is to have the ex continue as the tenant, but you're still exposed as a potential illegal sublet. You could try for a legal sublet, but landlords could refuse if the ex can't show she intends to return to the unit. So decide your strategy: go for a lease if possible, or manage a sublet situation if possible.