How do I start the process to assert my succession rights to a rent stabilized apartment?

Dear New York Tenant: A succession tenancy is a right of a Rent Stabilized tenant in certain circumstances. Your mother moving out and leaving you alone in the apartment is the trigger to your claiming the rights of a successor tenancy. There are many helpful guides published online to review. You should always engage an attorney. Landlords and their legal counsel often "challenge" a succession claim, even when the successor tenant is entitled to the home. An attorney may even suggest that the current tenant renew the lease and in doing so preserve the status quo so that a succession may take place with a current lease renewal, but that advice varies among tenant attorneys and is often controlled by the actual facts and circumstances. You could get a head start by reading information at (and reading information is not a substitute for your own legal counsel): http://metcouncilonhousing.org/help_and_answers/succession_rights http://www.nycrgb.org/html/resources/faq/succession.html http://itkowitzteachingandpublishing.itkowitz.com/2014/12/getting-awarded-legal-fees-in-landlord.html