Info needed - Moving Partner into lottery unit (real estate, apartment)

[maisy66]

Hello,

I have been in my lottery for 6-7 months now. When I applied for my one bedroom unit (over 18 months ago!) I did so on my own and did not have any intention in living with my partner at that time.

My partner's lease is now up in a few months and we have been discussing that we are wanting to live together!

I have scoured the threads in this forum and am getting so many conflicting answers and resources.

Is there any legal law/regulation that states that a tenant can or cannot add in an occupant after certifying for a RS lottery apartment? If we can, would they need to certify for the unit with me?

My lease says that "the property should only be occupied by the signed tenant (me)" however right after it also says "any additional occupants must be notified in writing to the managing company before occupancy". Which is telling me that I can't move them in.... but I also can?

Essentially to be very candid, I don't want to ask if it's going to be a hard no AND it's going to put my unit in jeopardy. Some people on this forum are saying yes, some are saying no.

[Larubiaxo]

If I were you I wouldn’t tell them anything. I have a friend that had her partner move in and didn’t say anything and they never asked either. It’s not like they pay attention to who walks in every apartment and watch how long they stay there. When she had to do her lease renewal she also did not mention that he was living with her so that she is not found ineligible or her rent get increased.

[liewcake]

"Should" is not equal to "Must".

Landlords are not legally allowed to deny a tenant a roommate, but they can legally deny your initial application based on household size. It's definitely a gray area which I've also been unable to find concrete answers to as to whether the roommate law (235-f) applies to housing lottery applications. My interpretation of the regulation is that the roommate law applies to 3rd party developed housing lotteries, as the landlords are 3rd party developers and not the government. I believe there is more scrutiny over housing lotteries that are funded entirely by the government, and it may apply during income recertification. 3rd party developed housing lotteries on the other hand are not affected by income recertification as it has been acknowledged that an increase in income outside of your initial lottery AMI application will not result in you losing your won apartment.

Per the Tenants Right's handbook of NYC:
"
It is unlawful for a landlord to restrict occupancy of an apartment to the named tenant in the lease or to that tenant and immediate family. When the lease names only one tenant, that tenant may share the apartment with immediate family, one additional occupant and the occupant’s dependent children, provided that the tenant or the tenant’s spouse occupies the premises as their primary residence. When the lease names more than one tenant, these tenants may share their apartment with immediate family, and, if one of the tenants named in the lease moves out, that tenant may be replaced with another occupant and the dependent children of the occupant. At least one of the tenants named in the lease or that tenant’s spouse must occupy the shared apartment as a primary residence.

A tenant must inform the landlords of the name of any occupant within 30 days after the occupant has moved into the apartment or within 30 days of a landlord’s request for this information. If the tenant named in the lease moves out, the remaining occupant has no right to continue in occupancy without the landlord’s express consent.
"

Take the above with a grain of salt as I am not a lawyer, and perhaps consult a real estate attorney if you need further clarity.

[xeno17]

Currently in a lottery unit and had the same question - asked my management and they said that you cannot add a legal occupant to the unit until after the first year of occupancy. I asked about the roommate law where it says you have the right to a roommate, but they said income qualified affordable housing has regulations above and beyond a regular rent stabilized unit.

After you live there for a year, you should have no issues adding them, they just don’t want you to add them immediately as that would seem like you’re skirting around the household members when you applied

[randomperson2]

Not your lawyer. Roommate law applies. They are required to let you add one roommate. However, they are not required to put them on the lease unless you marry. Roommate does not need to certify income. You cannot lose your lease just for requesting to add a roommate, even if for some reason the request is permissibly denied. Your rent will not be increased just for adding an occupant (though it will be increased in accordance with RGB guidelines every year, of course).

If you bring in a roommate very early on, there is some possibility that you would be investigated for defrauding the lottery. We don't have any actual reports of this happening (I think), but there's no reason it couldn't and you can understand why there'd be concern that the protection of the roommate law might be abused as a loophole to get in a pre-existing household that wouldn't have qualified at the time of certification. For that reason, I agree with the advice to wait at least a year after moving in before having a roommate/partner move in, to minimize any appearance of fraud.

Having an occupant who the landlord hasn't been notified of likely *is* a violation of your lease. Therefore (assuming you didn't commit fraud in the first place), it's actually *more* risky not to notify the landlord than to do so. It also means your partner is excluded from any possibility of succession rights, which may not seem important now but might matter a lot down the line.

[macnyc2003]

Read your lease and see if there’s anything in there about a roommate. I bet there is.

[7continents]

Stick with the room mate addition. Think VERY carefully about adding to the lease. If the relationship is shorter than your occupancy of the unit, it will be a hot and sticky situation.

[eateverycookie]

any update on this?