The New York Eviction Process: A Step-by-Step Guide for Landlords

New York has some of the most tenant-protective eviction laws in the country, and the process rewards the landlord who follows every step exactly and punishes the one who cuts a corner. An eviction here is not a landlord action but a court case, called a summary proceeding, filed under the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law and decided by a judge. The sequence is orderly: pick the right proceeding type, serve the correct predicate notice, let the notice period run, file the petition in the proper court, prevail at the hearing, obtain the warrant of eviction, and let a marshal or sheriff carry it out. Miss a deadline, serve the wrong notice, or misstate the rent, and a New York judge can dismiss the case and send you back to the beginning — costing you weeks or months of lost rent. This guide walks the entire New York procedure end to end, flags the defects that get cases thrown out, and points to the one step that prevents most evictions: thorough screening before you hand over the keys.

Eviction in New York is a lawsuit called a summary proceeding, governed by Article Seven of the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law, widely abbreviated RPAPL. It is heard in New York City Housing Court or, outside the city, in a local city, town, village, or district court, and it is enforced not by the landlord but by a city marshal or a county sheriff. Layered on top of the RPAPL are the sweeping 2019 reforms known as the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, the 2024 Good Cause Eviction Law where it has been adopted, and, for many older buildings, rent stabilization or rent control. Because those layers stack, a step that is lawful for one New York unit can be unlawful for the next. New York law here is genuinely complex and still evolving, so every figure below is a starting point to verify, not a guarantee.

The short overview video below summarizes New York’s tenant-protective framework; the sections that follow break down each stage of the procedure in detail — the two proceeding types, the predicate notices, filing, the hearing, and the warrant — plus realistic timelines, costs, the tenant defenses you should expect, the landlord mistakes that lose cases, and the screening step that keeps most owners out of court entirely. This page covers the mechanics of the proceeding; when you are actually allowed to evict a covered tenant is the subject of the separate New York Good Cause Eviction Law guide.

Before the first notice goes out, it helps to understand why New York is harder than most states. Several layers of law apply at once, and all must be satisfied. First, the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law, Article Seven, sets the summary-proceeding procedure: the grounds, the predicate notices, service, the petition, and the warrant. Second, the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, universally called HSTPA, rewrote large parts of that procedure — it lengthened the rent demand to fourteen days, tied holdover termination notices to how long the tenant has lived there, capped late fees, restricted certain fees and security deposits, and gave judges broad power to stay evictions for hardship. Third, the Good Cause Eviction Law of 2024, where adopted, requires a statutory reason to evict or refuse renewal for covered units. And fourth, rent stabilization and rent control add still more protections for a large share of older New York City apartments.

The practical consequence is that a New York landlord cannot rely on a form found online or a process used in another state. The right notice depends on the grounds, the length of the tenancy, whether the unit is rent-regulated, and whether Good Cause applies. A single wrong figure on a rent demand, or service by a method the statute does not allow, can hand the tenant a complete defense. That is why most New York landlords — and nearly all corporate or LLC owners, who generally must appear through counsel — retain a landlord-tenant attorney, and why the documentation discipline in this guide matters even more here than elsewhere. Because the law is complex and changes often, treat every number below as something to confirm against the current RPAPL and the post-HSTPA rules before you act.

New York’s summary-proceeding statute splits eviction into two tracks, and picking the wrong one is a common and fatal mistake. Before anything else, decide which proceeding your facts require, and, for a covered unit, confirm you have a lawful reason to evict at all.

Nonpayment vs. Holdover

A nonpayment proceeding, under RPAPL section seven hundred eleven, subdivision two, is for one thing only: the tenant owes rent and you want the rent and possession. It begins with a fourteen-day written rent demand. A holdover proceeding, under RPAPL section seven hundred eleven, subdivision one, and related provisions, covers everything else — a lease that has expired, a month-to-month tenancy you have terminated, a serious or incurable lease violation, a nuisance, an unauthorized occupant, or a tenant remaining without permission. A holdover begins not with a rent demand but with the correct termination or predicate notice for the situation. If you serve a rent demand when the facts call for a holdover, or the reverse, the court can dismiss.

For Covered Units, You Also Need Good Cause

Since 2024, New York’s Good Cause Eviction Law requires a landlord of a covered unit to have a statutory good-cause reason to evict or to refuse a lease renewal, and it constrains certain rent increases. It applies in New York City and in localities that have opted in, with a set of exemptions for small landlords, newer construction, higher-rent units, and owner-occupied buildings. Rent-stabilized and rent-controlled tenants already have their own strong protections. Whether a particular tenancy is covered, and what counts as good cause, is detailed and evolving. This guide is about the mechanics of the proceeding; for the substance of when you may lawfully evict or decline to renew, see the dedicated New York Good Cause Eviction Law guide and confirm coverage before you serve anything.

Grounds You Cannot Use

An eviction cannot rest on a tenant’s race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, familial status, source of income, or any other class protected by federal, state, or local law — New York protects more classes than federal law does, including source of income and, in many localities, lawful occupation. Nor may you evict in retaliation for a tenant exercising a legal right, such as requesting a repair, reporting a housing-code violation, or organizing with other tenants; New York law presumes retaliation for certain adverse actions taken within a set period after protected activity. A retaliatory or discriminatory motive turns a routine eviction into a losing case and a likely counterclaim.

The predicate notice is the foundation of the entire case, and New York courts scrutinize it closely. If it is defective — wrong type, wrong period, an inaccurate rent figure, a missing tenant, or improper service — the court can dismiss the petition and you must start over. More New York cases are lost on notice and service defects than on any other single mistake. Note that HSTPA changed several of these periods in 2019, so a form or template written before then may be wrong; verify the current requirement every time.

The Fourteen-Day Rent Demand (Nonpayment)

For nonpayment, HSTPA replaced the old three-day demand with a fourteen-day written rent demand under RPAPL section seven hundred eleven, subdivision two. It must state the rent claimed, and the amount and the covered period must be accurate. Demanding the wrong amount, or including charges that are not properly rent, can defeat the petition. The oral rent demand no longer exists: the 2019 act deleted the alternative in RPAPL section seven hundred eleven, subdivision two, that had allowed one, so only a written fourteen-day demand, properly served and documented, will support a nonpayment proceeding. If the tenant pays the full amount owed, the nonpayment case generally cannot proceed, and HSTPA also expanded the tenant’s ability to stop an eviction by paying rent that is due even later in the process.

Termination and Cure Notices (Holdover)

Holdover notices vary with the situation. To end a month-to-month or expiring tenancy, HSTPA tied the notice period to how long the tenant has lived in the unit, under Real Property Law section two hundred twenty-six-c:

The same tenancy-length ladder generally applies when a landlord declines to renew a lease or raises the rent substantially for a non-regulated tenant. For a curable lease violation, the common practice is a notice to cure — frequently cited as a ten-day notice — giving the tenant a chance to fix the breach, followed by a notice of termination if the tenant does not cure. For serious, incurable conduct such as a nuisance or illegal use, a termination notice without a cure period may be appropriate. The exact notice, its length, and its contents depend on the grounds, the tenancy, and whether the unit is rent-regulated, so confirm the correct predicate notice for your specific facts before serving. These periods reflect post-HSTPA law and can change; verify the current version of Real Property Law section two hundred twenty-six-c.

How to Serve the Notice

Content is only half the battle; how you deliver the notice decides whether a New York court accepts it. Predicate notices and the later petition must be served by a method the law allows — generally personal delivery to the tenant, substituted service on a person of suitable age and discretion at the premises combined with mailing, or, when those fail after reasonable effort, so-called conspicuous or “nail and mail” service (affixing the notice and mailing copies). RPAPL section seven hundred thirty-five governs service of the petition, and the predicate notice’s own service must satisfy its statute or the lease. Keep a signed, dated affidavit of service every time.

Once the predicate notice period expires and the tenant has not paid, cured, or vacated, you commence the summary proceeding by filing a petition and a notice of petition — but never before the notice period ends, because filing early causes dismissal. In New York City the case is filed in the borough’s Housing Court, part of the Civil Court of the City of New York; outside the city it is filed in the local city, town, village, or district court that has jurisdiction where the property sits. The petition states the grounds, the parties, the premises, and the relief sought; the notice of petition sets the date the tenant must appear or answer.

What to Bring When You File

• The petition and the notice of petition, prepared for the correct proceeding type
• A copy of the signed lease or rental agreement, if any
• A copy of the predicate notice you served, with its affidavit of service
• A rent ledger showing every charge, payment, and the running balance (for nonpayment)
• Any rent-regulation or Good Cause documentation that applies to the unit
• The filing fee, which is generally modest in Housing Court but varies by court and county

Serving the Petition

After filing, the petition and notice of petition must be served on the tenant — a step separate from the predicate notice — under RPAPL section seven hundred thirty-five, using personal, substituted, or conspicuous service with the required mailings, within the window the statute sets before the return date. Use an authorized process server and file proof of service promptly; defective service of the petition can unravel a judgment later. Because the timing between service and the return date is prescribed by statute, serving too early or too late can itself be a defect.

New York summary proceedings are meant to be fast, but in practice, especially in New York City Housing Court, they involve multiple appearances, adjournments, and settlement discussions before a case is actually tried. Many cases resolve by stipulation of settlement — a written, so-ordered agreement, for example a payment plan in a nonpayment case or an agreed move-out date in a holdover. If the case is tried, it is decided almost entirely on documentation, so preparation, not eloquence, wins. Bring the originals and organized copies of everything.

What to Bring to the Hearing

• The original signed lease or rental agreement
• The original predicate notice with its affidavit of service
• A rent ledger showing all charges, payments, and the balance
• Copies of every written communication with the tenant
• Any rent-registration, Good Cause, or exemption records that apply to the unit
• Photos, repair records, inspection reports, or witness statements supporting the grounds

Common Tenant Defenses in New York

A tenant who genuinely will not leave despite a valid case can still draw things out with adjournments, an order to show cause, or a request for a hardship stay, which HSTPA gave judges broad discretion to grant. Our nation