Aging and Rent Stabilization

Q. My mother’s husband has had a rent-stabilized apartment in Midtown Manhattan since the 1970s. My mother married him and moved into the apartment in the 1980s. He is now 85 and suffers from dementia. Since she cannot provide the daily care that he needs, my mother has decided to place him in a nursing facility. The landlord told my mother that she is “not on the lease,” and since the lease renewal her husband signed is for only two years, if he should die during that time, my mother would not have a home. I do not think this can possibly be true. They’ve been married for nearly 30 years. What can she do?

A. The rules on this are clear, and a landlord who owns rent-stabilized apartments in New York should know them. Your mother has the right to remain in the apartment for as long as she wishes. “The landlord is giving you bad information,” said David Hershey-Webb, a Manhattan lawyer who represents tenants.

Your mother may stay in the apartment for two reasons. First, the landlord is required to add a spouse’s name to a rent-stabilized lease if the tenant requests it. Second, even if her name is not on the lease, she is entitled to take it over once her husband moves into a nursing home under the rules of succession. The law permits immediate family members, like spouses, to take over a lease when a tenant dies or moves out, as long as the family member has lived with the tenant for two years or longer.

Disabled family members or those who are 62 or older need to have lived in the apartment for only a year. Clearly, given the length of their marriage, your mother meets this requirement.

So what should your mother do? She could start with a letter to the landlord, laying out the law. It should come as no surprise to him, as succession rules are well established.

If he refuses to add her name to the lease, your mother should file a complaint with the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, which oversees rent-regulated apartments. His behavior “may be considered harassment,” Mr. Hershey-Webb said, and he could face penalties.