Know Your Rights, Keep Your Home: Rent-Stabilized Succession Rights Education Initiative

What is your idea?
Create a citywide, multilingual public education campaign to help New Yorkers understand and exercise their rent-stabilized tenant succession rights before a housing crisis occurs. Many New Yorkers are unaware that qualifying family members may have the legal right to remain in a rent-stabilized apartment when the primary tenant passes away or permanently vacates. This initiative would bring accessible, culturally responsive housing education directly into neighborhoods through community workshops, public awareness campaigns, and partnerships with libraries, older adult centers, tenant organizations, and community-based nonprofits. The campaign would provide easy-to-understand resources explaining eligibility, residency requirements, documentation, and the process of asserting succession rights. Special attention would be given to multigenerational households, older adults, immigrant communities, and families in neighborhoods facing displacement pressures. By empowering families to understand and prepare for succession before an emergency, this initiative would help preserve affordable housing, protect intergenerational households, and strengthen neighborhood stability.
What problem is your idea trying to solve?
New York City's rent-stabilized housing is an essential safeguard against displacement, yet many tenants and their families do not know their succession rights until they are grieving the death of a loved one or facing the threat of eviction. This lack of awareness can leave eligible family members vulnerable to losing their homes, particularly when they do not know what documentation is needed to establish residency or how to assert their legal rights. Navigating these processes without accessible information can result in prolonged legal disputes, financial hardship, emotional distress, and preventable displacement. The consequences extend beyond individual households. When longtime residents lose their homes, neighborhoods lose generations of cultural knowledge, community relationships, and local history. Older adults, immigrant families, low-income households, and communities of color may face additional barriers to accessing reliable housing information and legal assistance. Succession rights should not be something families discover only after a crisis. Proactive, neighborhood-based education can help New Yorkers protect their housing stability, preserve intergenerational connections, and remain in the communities they have helped build.
Which group(s) does your idea focus on?
Youth (under 24)
Older Adults (65 +)
Public Housing Residents
Justice Impacted People
People with Disabilities
Limited English Speakers
Immigrants / Migrants
Veterans
LGBTQIA+ People
Parents
Unhoused People

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Know Your Rights, Keep Your Home: Rent-Stabilized Succession Rights Education Initiative

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