Lease renewal

[smokey]

I am not legally married to my partner. However, we have been living as man and wife for approximately 30 years. We have a son who is 28 years old. On our bank account, insurance and other documents, we list each other as husband and wife. We just never got around to getting married.

The building we live in is rent stabilized and I am about to renew my lease. Since we just got a new landlord, should I request to my landlord that his name be added to my new lease? Also, can my landlord ask me for a copy of a marriage cerficate?(If necessary,we could make our relationship legal) If something happens to me, I don't want my mother or my partner thrown out of the aparment.

Oh,my son is in the Navy. However, I would like to keep his name on my lease. Is this legal?

Thank you

[lappert]

To save a lot of hassle, you might wish to make your relationship legal (although that's a decision between you and your partner and may involve other factors). You probably could (based on your description) qualify for a non-traditional family status, entitling you to succession rights -- although I'm not sure if that give you the right to be on the lease without that marriage certificate. Landlords frequently dispute claims of non-traditional family status forcing you to prove many things about your relationship and lengthy litigation. You might win, but why go through that unless you have your reasons for not getting hitched legally. Easiest way is to take that trip to the preacher, get on the lease and avoid the hassles.