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Free NYC Holdover Petition Worksheet

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NYC Holdover Petition Worksheet — a preparation organizer that gathers the facts a New York City Housing Court holdover proceeding requires under RPAPL Article 7. It is a preparation aid, not the official court form.

Preparation Worksheet RPAPL Article 7 NYC Housing Court Free PDF

A NYC holdover proceeding is a summary proceeding under RPAPL Article 7 that a landlord brings in New York City Housing Court to recover possession after a tenancy has ended and the tenant remains. It is one of the most technical filings in landlord-tenant practice: the wrong predicate notice, a miscounted date, or a defect in service will get the case dismissed. This page gives you a free preparation worksheet that organizes every fact the proceeding requires — the parties, the premises, the grounds, the predicate notice, and the relief — so you can transfer clean, complete information onto the official NYC Housing Court Notice of Petition and Petition. This worksheet is an organizing aid, not the official court form, and a holdover is exacting enough that a landlord should use counsel.

Complete the fields below to generate a preparation worksheet that organizes the facts a NYC holdover proceeding requires. The worksheet is titled as a worksheet and is not the official court petition; use it to prepare, then complete the official NYC Housing Court forms and file them with the court.

This page is a preparation worksheet, not the official court petition. New York City Housing Court has its own Notice of Petition and Petition forms, and in a holdover the notice of petition generally must be issued by an attorney or the court clerk under RPAPL § 731. What this worksheet does is line up every fact those official forms will ask for — the interest of the owner, the tenant’s interest, a precise description of the premises, the grounds, the predicate notice, and the relief — so that when you or your attorney complete the official petition, nothing is missing and nothing is guessed. Getting the facts organized first is how landlords avoid the small omissions that later sink a holdover. The law referenced here comes from the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL) Article 7 and the Real Property Law (RPL), as published on the New York State Legislature site and reflected in the NYC Housing Court forms.

A holdover is a summary proceeding under RPAPL Article 7 to recover possession of real property. Under RPAPL § 711(1), the core ground is that the tenant “continues in possession of any portion of the premises after the expiration of his term, without the permission of the landlord.” That covers a lease that has run out, a month-to-month or periodic tenancy that has been ended by notice, and a tenancy terminated early for a lease violation after the proper cure and termination notices. It is distinct from a nonpayment proceeding: nonpayment is about collecting unpaid rent from a tenant who still has a tenancy, while a holdover is about ending a tenancy that has already come to an end and getting the unit back.

Two features make holdovers unforgiving. First, they are summary proceedings — fast, statutory, and strictly construed, so a court will enforce the technical requirements rather than overlook a defect. Second, most holdovers depend on a predicate notice that has to be correct and fully expired before the petition is even filed. A landlord who files a day early, serves the wrong notice, or misdescribes the unit will usually have the case dismissed and have to begin again with a fresh notice, losing weeks or months. That is why the preparation captured on this worksheet matters as much as the filing itself.

Before most holdovers, the landlord must serve a predicate notice that ends the tenancy and warns the tenant. Which notice applies depends on how the tenancy arose and why it is ending. For a month-to-month or expiring tenancy the landlord will not renew, the required period is set by RPL § 226-c, added by the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (HSTPA). Section 226-c ties the notice to how long the tenant has lived in the unit or the length of the lease, whichever is longer:

• Thirty days if the tenant has occupied the unit for less than one year and does not have a lease term of at least one year.
• Sixty days if the tenant has occupied for one year but less than two years, or has a lease term of at least one year but less than two years.
• Ninety days if the tenant has occupied for more than two years, or has a lease term of at least two years.

Where the tenancy is ending because of a lease violation, the sequence is different: the landlord typically serves a notice to cure giving the tenant a chance to fix the problem, and, if it is not cured, a notice of termination ending the tenancy on a stated date. The length of each notice is set by the lease and, for regulated units, by the Rent Stabilization Code. Whatever the notice, it must name the tenant and the premises, state the ground, and give a clear termination date — and the landlord must be able to prove exactly how and when it was served. HSTPA tightened these requirements across the board, so relying on a pre-2019 form or an old notice period is a common way holdovers go wrong.

Once the predicate notice has expired, the proceeding is commenced with a Notice of Petition and a Petition. RPAPL § 741 sets out what the petition must contain, and each element has to be present and accurate:

• The petitioner’s interest in the premises from which removal is sought (§ 741(1)) — for example, that the petitioner is the owner or the net lessee.
• The respondent’s interest in the premises and the respondent’s relationship to the petitioner (§ 741(2)) — for example, a month-to-month tenant, a tenant under an expired lease, or a licensee.
• A description of the premises from which removal is sought (§ 741(3)) — precise enough to identify the unit, including the apartment or unit designation.
• The facts upon which the proceeding is based (§ 741(4)) — how the tenancy arose and ended, the predicate notice served, and why the respondent’s continued possession is without permission.
• The relief sought (§ 741(5)) — a final judgment of possession and a warrant of eviction, and, where applicable, a money judgment for use and occupancy and costs.

The petition must also be verified by a person authorized to bring the proceeding, or by an attorney or agent as the statute allows. In rent-regulated matters and in some localities the petition must include additional allegations, so the official form and current court rules control the exact language. The worksheet above is organized around these RPAPL 741 elements so the information transfers cleanly onto the official petition.

How the notice of petition and petition are served is governed by RPAPL § 735, and defective service is fatal to a holdover. The statute allows three methods: personal delivery to the respondent; substituted service by leaving the papers with a person of suitable age and discretion who resides or is employed at the property; or conspicuous-place service (“nail and mail”), affixing the papers to a conspicuous part of the premises or placing them under the door when personal or substituted service cannot be made after a reasonable attempt. Substituted and conspicuous-place service each require an additional mailing of copies — by both registered or certified mail and regular first-class mail — within one day. Service is completed by filing proof of service with the court.

Timing is set by RPAPL § 733: in a holdover the notice of petition and petition must be served at least ten and not more than seventeen days before the date the petition is noticed to be heard — the return date. On the return date the respondent may appear and file an answer raising defenses, and the case is scheduled from there. Because both the method and the timing of service are strictly enforced, most landlords use a licensed process server and keep a careful record of every attempt, delivery, and mailing. A holdover sits within the broader set of New York removal procedures, so it helps to understand how it fits alongside the state’s other eviction notice requirements before you begin.

If the unit is rent-stabilized or rent-controlled, a holdover carries extra requirements on top of the RPAPL. Regulated tenants generally have a right to renewal, so a landlord cannot simply decline to renew; the holdover has to rest on a ground the Rent Stabilization Code or Rent Control law allows — for example, owner-occupancy, a substantial breach of the lease, or non-primary residence — and some grounds require a DHCR (Division of Housing and Community Renewal) filing, approval, or a notice served within a specific window before the lease expires. The unit’s DHCR-registered status also has to be correct, and the petition must plead the regulated status accurately.

The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 reshaped much of this: it created the RPL 226-c notice tiers, limited certain fees, and tightened the grounds and notices for regulated units. Subsidized tenancies — Section 8, NYCHA, and similar programs — add their own good-cause and notice rules that can override an ordinary holdover. Because a regulated or subsidized tenancy can defeat a holdover that would be routine for a free-market unit, confirm the regulatory status of the unit — and any program rules — before serving a notice or filing. For a stabilized apartment, the lease itself carries required riders and renewal terms; our NYC stabilized lease form shows what those tenancies look like on paper and why their holdover grounds are narrower.

• Filing before the notice expires. The predicate notice period must fully run before the petition is filed; filing even a day early is grounds for dismissal.
• The wrong predicate notice or wrong length. Using a 30-day notice where RPL 226-c requires 90, or a notice to quit where a notice to cure was needed, defeats the case.
• Defective service. Skipping the required mailing, using the wrong address, or failing to attempt personal or substituted service before nailing and mailing violates RPAPL 735.
• Misdescribing the premises or parties. An imprecise unit description or the wrong petitioner interest under RPAPL 741 invites dismissal.
• Ignoring regulated status. Treating a rent-stabilized or rent-controlled unit as free-market — or missing a required DHCR step — is a frequent and costly error.
• An unverified or incomplete petition. A petition that omits a required RPAPL 741 element or is not properly verified can be rejected.

• Confirm the regulatory status first. Check the DHCR registration and the lease before choosing a notice — a regulated unit changes everything.
• Serve the right predicate notice and prove it. Match the notice type and RPL 226-c length to the tenancy, and keep dated proof of exactly how it was served.
• Let the notice fully expire. Calendar the expiration date and file only after it has passed; add a cushion when a date is close.
• Describe the premises precisely. Use the full unit designation and address so the RPAPL 741 description cannot be challenged.
• Use a licensed process server. Proper RPAPL 735 service, with the required mailings and a clear affidavit, keeps the case alive.
• Screen future tenants thoroughly. Verify credit, rental history, and prior eviction filings before you sign, so the next tenancy is on firmer footing.
• Have counsel prepare or review the filing. A holdover is exacting; an attorney or the Housing Court Help Center reduces the risk of a fatal defect.

Because a holdover is one of the most technical filings in landlord-tenant practice, a landlord should strongly consider using a New York landlord-tenant attorney rather than filing alone. Corporate and LLC owners generally must appear through counsel, and even an individual owner benefits from having a lawyer confirm the grounds, draft the predicate notice, prepare the petition, and arrange service. Where hiring an attorney is not possible, the NYC Housing Court Help Center in each borough offers free assistance to unrepresented parties, and court-based resources can help a landlord understand the forms and the process.

Whatever route you take, treat this worksheet as the first step: get the facts organized and the documents in hand, then bring them to counsel or the Help Center to complete and file the official forms. Careful preparation is what turns a holdover from a case that gets dismissed on a technicality into one decided on its merits.

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