Evicting Tenants in New York – a Nassau Court and Suffolk Court Guide

 In New York, evictionproceedings are frequently initiated in the form of lawsuits toget back possession of real property pursuant to New York State’s Real Property Law and Rules.Lawsuits to regain possession of a premises are the most usual Landlord and Tenantproceedings brought in Nassau District Court and Suffolk District Court.The two most customary types of summary actions are:

Holdover Proceedings - initiated when a tenant remains in a rented premises after the lease expires, against the will of the landlord.

Non-Payment Proceedings - Non-Payment Actions are initiated when the tenants stop giving rent and the landlord makes arequest that the tenant pay the rent or leave the premises and the tenants refuse to do either.

New York City, Nassau and Suffolk eviction proceedings are specialized, and procedural rulesmust be sternlyfollowed, or your case may be dismissed by the court.

Do you need to retain a Lawyer to Evict a tenant? 

To start an Eviction proceeding, you need specific legal knowledge that is impossible tolearn on your own on the internet.  New York Courts stronglyadvocate to landlords that they retain an attorney to start evictionproceedings for them. This is because if you proceed as a landlord in an eviction action in New York without an attorney, you will be responsible for preparing your petition in accordance with court requirements without any assistance.

New York City, Nassau and Suffolk Courts each have distinct and strict rules to filing a landlord tenant action, and often pro se litigants have their case discontinued because they fail to abide by the specialized rules required by each court.

What Forms do I Need to Start a Landlord Tenant Lawsuit

 For Non-Payment proceedings, you have to draft, file and serve a petition and a Notice of Petition. Many landlord tenant legal forms are available on the internet. Just make sure that the form you use is specifically drafted for New York State courts.

Using a form written by a generic forms company that was drafted for a court other than yours will often result in dismissal of your case, as each district court has its own unique rules and requirements.

 For holdover proceedings, you have to draft, file and serve a Petition and Notice of Petition that contains particularized holdover nomenclature.

How do You Get a Judgment and Warrant After You Have Won?

 For Non-Payment proceedings, you have to draft and file with your County’s Court a proposed Judgment, and proposed Warrant, detailing the amount of back rent due. The procedure is similar for the conclusion of a holdover proceedings.

How Do You Draft or File Landlord Tenant Forms On Your Own?

 If you bring an eviction proceeding without an attorney, you will be responsible for preparing your papers in accordance with the law without any help from the court. You are the person responsible for drafting or locating the appropriate form, but there are several New York landlord tenant law firms that give free New York Landlord Tenant Law advice and will be happy to assist you.

 Keep in mind that forms submitted to all courts must be completed using only black ink, and the filing fee must be paid before you can purchase an index number. The clerk will review your petition and notice and sign them if they are correct. If approved, the court will assign a court date for you, and you will have to locate and pay for a process server to serve all papers by a certain time.

 Typically tenants must be given at least five days, but no more than twelve days notice to appear in court. If the papers are personally served on the tenant, the 5 day period is counted from the actual date of service.

If all paperwork is served on your tenant by any other type of personal service, the 5 days are counted from the date the petition was filed with the court along with proof of service. A copy of the petition must be served by someone over the age of eighteen, who is not a party to the action. Proof of service must be filed with the clerk within three days of completing service.

 There may be specific legal requirements incurred on the landlord that must be fulfilled before you can bring an eviction proceeding (such as service of a 30 day notice).

You should consult with an attorney to be sure you have met all the prerequisites. This article will only assist you in learning about eviction lawsuits.

It remains your responsibility to satisfy your burden to the judge’s satisfaction at trial that you have a right to recover rent or property from your tenant. (Remember, the court staff is prohibited from giving legal advice, so if you do not hire an attorney, you must handle the matter on your own, and you must appear in court and present your case).

 Eviction proceedings require a high level of understanding of the law and rules of New York State. New York State Courts suggest that you speak with a New York landlord tenant lawyer before trying to evict your tenant yourself.

What Happens at the Conclusion of My Eviction Proceeding?

If done correctly, eviction proceedings typically end with the granting of a judgment and the issuance of a warrant of eviction. Once a warrant is issued by the judge, if the tenant still refuses to leave, you can contact your County’s enforcement officer (the Suffolk or Nassau County Sheriff, or Marshall if within NYC) who will in turn charge you a fee, and will notify the tenants that they have 72 hours notice to vacate the premises before they will physically removed by authorities.