Adding a family member to the lease… (sublet, apartment)

[Shill22]

I want to give up my rent stabilized apartment but I want to transfer it over to a family member.
Has anyone ever added someone to their lease & then removed themself after 30 days?

[WildAboutHarry]

More or less, it is not your privilege to do transfer a lease to anyone, as I understand it. It does not work the way you expressed it. Likely there will be posts about this by people who can express it better than I can. It might be more possible or more easy if the family already lives in the apartment. Not to be flip, but you would seem to be removed from a lease if you die or get divorced and do the paperwork. But be careful if you sublet because you are still responsible for the apartment, the rent and so on.

It’s likely, you can sublet your rent stabilized apartment to any qualified person family member or not.

Succession Rights
https://rentguidelinesboard.cityofne...ession-rights/

Rent Regulation Fact Sheets
https://hcr.ny.gov/rent-regulation-fact-sheets

[BugsyPal]

Originally Posted by Shill22

I want to give up my rent stabilized apartment but I want to transfer it over to a family member.
Has anyone ever added someone to their lease & then removed themself after 30 days?

You don't own anything thus there isn't anything to "transfer".

Certain family members, a spouse and limited others *may* have rights to succession of a RS unit, but that's a different kettle of fish.

By NYS law only person a LL must add to a RS lease is legally married spouse. Everyone else is at LL's sole and exclusive discretion.

[Anon7mouse]

Tried it once in the past and it didn't work out (HPD doesn't manage or monitor the lease after you move in so it's completely at the discretion of your LL)- if anyone has been successful at this, would love to know what reasoning/strategy their LLs accepted!

[BPC1999]

I just signed a lease and made sure ALL FOUR family members were named and signatories on the lease. If anything happens to any of us, the others are protected. Of course I understand there are downsides to this, but that's a risk I'm ok taking.

[Anon7mouse]

Originally Posted by BPC1999

I just signed a lease and made sure ALL FOUR family members were named and signatories on the lease. If anything happens to any of us, the others are protected. Of course I understand there are downsides to this, but that's a risk I'm ok taking.

Were they part of your household when you got HPD approval? I've never heard of being able to add people to the lease during the first signing if they weren't apart of your application, because at that point eligibility is still based on household size and income. Interesting!

[WildAboutHarry]

For the OP to achieve the desired outcome might result in a great financial benefit to the family member. With that it mind, consulting and paying a credentialed expert to reach the goal should be considered.

‘ For rent stabilized tenants, it is possible for a person who is an occupant in an apartment leased to a family member to become a tenant (succeed) after the primary tenant leaves if the family member lived in the apartment for two years or more prior to the tenant’s departure, or since the beginning of the tenancy, or since the commencement of the relationship. If the person asserting succession rights is disabled or at least 62 years of age then the period of co-occupancy is only one year.

The minimum periods of occupancy are not considered interrupted by military duty, enrollment as a full-time student, court ordered relocation (not involving the lease or grounds for eviction), temporary relocation because of employment, hospitalization or other reasonable grounds as determined by NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) on application.

It is also possible for a member of a “non-traditional” family to gain control of the apartment if he/she can show “emotional and financial commitment.” Courts may consider the following:

longevity of the relationship,
sharing of household expenses,
intermingling of finances such as credit cards or bank accounts,
engaging in family type activities together,
formalizing legal obligations through such things as wills, powers of attorney, domestic partnership declarations etc.,
holding themselves out as family members in public activities,
regularly performing family functions for each other.’

Source:
https://rentguidelinesboard.cityofne...ession-rights/

###

https://hcr.ny.gov/succession

Fact Sheet #30: Succession Rights:
‘ This document is under revision. (11/2023)’

https://hcr.ny.gov/succession

Form concerning adding family members.
https://hcr.ny.gov/system/files/docu...5-fillable.pdf

[Shill22]

Originally Posted by WildAboutHarry

For the OP to achieve the desired outcome might result in a great financial benefit to the family member. With that it mind, consulting and paying a credentialed expert to reach the goal should be considered.

‘ For rent stabilized tenants, it is possible for a person who is an occupant in an apartment leased to a family member to become a tenant (succeed) after the primary tenant leaves if the family member lived in the apartment for two years or more prior to the tenant’s departure, or since the beginning of the tenancy, or since the commencement of the relationship. If the person asserting succession rights is disabled or at least 62 years of age then the period of co-occupancy is only one year.

The minimum periods of occupancy are not considered interrupted by military duty, enrollment as a full-time student, court ordered relocation (not involving the lease or grounds for eviction), temporary relocation because of employment, hospitalization or other reasonable grounds as determined by NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) on application.

It is also possible for a member of a “non-traditional” family to gain control of the apartment if he/she can show “emotional and financial commitment.” Courts may consider the following:

longevity of the relationship,
sharing of household expenses,
intermingling of finances such as credit cards or bank accounts,
engaging in family type activities together,
formalizing legal obligations through such things as wills, powers of attorney, domestic partnership declarations etc.,
holding themselves out as family members in public activities,
regularly performing family functions for each other.’

Source:
https://rentguidelinesboard.cityofne...ession-rights/

###

https://hcr.ny.gov/succession

Fact Sheet #30: Succession Rights:
‘ This document is under revision. (11/2023)’

https://hcr.ny.gov/succession

Form concerning adding family members.
https://hcr.ny.gov/system/files/docu...5-fillable.pdf

Thanks! This is what I remember seeing years ago somewhere in my lease. I thought it was 30 days. Thanks for your help

[Shill22]

Originally Posted by WildAboutHarry

More or less, it is not your privilege to do transfer a lease to anyone, as I understand it. It does not work the way you expressed it. Likely there will be posts about this by people who can express it better than I can. It might be more possible or more easy if the family already lives in the apartment. Not to be flip, but you would seem to be removed from a lease if you die or get divorced and do the paperwork. But be careful if you sublet because you are still responsible for the apartment, the rent and so on.

It’s likely, you can sublet your rent stabilized apartment to any qualified person family member or not.

Succession Rights
https://rentguidelinesboard.cityofne...ession-rights/

Rent Regulation Fact Sheets
https://hcr.ny.gov/rent-regulation-fact-sheets

Thank you

[WildAboutHarry]

Originally Posted by Shill22

Thanks! This is what I remember seeing years ago somewhere in my lease. I thought it was 30 days. Thanks for your help

You are welcome. Good luck. It seems pretty complex to me. If it’s important to you and this family member consider seeking assistance with the goal. Even paid ones. There could be better or worse ways of navigating this. Intuition tells me it can’t be achieved in a hurry.