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In New York, eviction actions are mostly initiated in the form of lawsuits to regain possession of real property pursuant to New York State's Real Property Law and Rules. Summary Proceedings to regain possession of property are the most conventional Landlord and Tenant actions brought in Nassau District Court and Suffolk District Court. The two most conventional types of summary proceedings are:

Holdover Actions – brought when a tenant remains in possession of a house or apartment after their lease expires.

Non-Payment Proceedings – Non-Payment Proceedings are brought when the renter stops paying their rent and the property owner or manager makes a demand that the renter pay the rent or leave the property.

New York landlord tenant actions are specialized, and procedural rules have to be followed strictly, or your case will be discontinued by the court.

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

Proceedings to recover real property demand specific legal knowledge.~To start an Eviction proceeding, you need specific legal knowledge that is impossible to discover on your own on the internet.  When evicting someone, New York, Nassau and Suffolk courts all vigorously advocate to landlords that they hire a landlord tenant lawyer long island. If you wish to proceed as a landlord in an eviction proceeding in New York without a lawyer, you will be responsible for preparing your petition with notice in accordance with the law without any assistance from the court.

Each court has stringent rules when it comes to filing an eviction petition, and often itigants without an attorney have their case permanently dismissed because they fail to follow the specialized and procedural rules established by each court.

What Forms do I Need to Start a Landlord Tenant Lawsuit?

Each type of action is different. For Non-Payment proceedings, you have to draft, file and serve a petition and a Notice of Petition requesting st-font-family: "Times New Roman"; color: black;"> specific relief under the Real Property Laws and Rules for New York.  There’s generic forms already written and available for download on the internet. One caution is to make certain that the legal documents you select on the internet are specifically drafted for New York State courts, as a generic petition that fails to conform to your County's specific court requirements will be dismissed. Using a form written by a generic forms company that was written for a court other than yours will often result in dismissal of your case, as each district court has its own specific rules and requirements.

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

What Happens When You Win in Court?

Non-Payment proceedings require you to draft a Judgment and Warrant for the judge to sign which details the amount of money due from your former renters. For holdover proceedings, you have to give to the Court a draft Judgment and Warrant detailing any rent outstanding, as well as entitlement to the apartment.

Is Any Assistance Available to Help Me Fill Out a Landlord Tenant Petition?

If you bring an eviction proceeding without a lawyer, you will be the person responsible for preparing your petition in accordance with the law without any helpfrom 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 landlord tenant New York advice and will be happy to assist you.

Forms submitted to all New York State Courts must be filled in using black ink only, and all filing fees must be paid before you can purchase an index number. The clerk will review your petition with notice for conformity with all state and local rules, and will only sign your papers if they are completed correctly. If approved, the clerk will schedule a court date for you, and you will have to locate and pay for a process server to serve your petition with notice 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 petition papers are handed directly to the tenant, the five day period is counted from the actual day of service.

If the petition is served on the defendants by any other type of personal service, the five days are counted from the date the papers were filed with the court along with proof of service.  A copy of the petition must be served by someone who is 18 or older, and cannot be the property owner or anyone with a property interest in the apartment. Service must be in full compliance with the law and proof of service must be filed with the court within three days of effecting service.

There may be specific legal requirements imposed on the landlord that must be fulfilled before an eviction action can commence (such as service of a 30 day notice). You should speak with an attorney as soon as possible to make sure you have satisfied all of the legal prerequisites. The information contained in this article serves only to educate you about Suffolk, Nassau landlord tenant law & eviction proceedings in New York Courts.

It remains your responsibility to prove your burden to the court's satisfaction at trial that you have a right to recover rent or property from your tenant. Keep in mind that all court employees are prohibited from giving you legal advice, so you must handle the entire evictions proceeding on your own if you do not hire a lawyer, and you must appear in court and present your case. To some this is easy. To others, it is a frightening concept. Suffolk & Nassau County eviction proceedings require a deep understanding of the law and rules of each court. New York State Courts suggest that you speak with a NY tenant landlord lawyer before trying to evict your tenant yourself.

What happens When My Landlord Tenant Proceeding Is Over?

A landlord tenant action typically ends with the granting of a judgment, which is a prerequisite for issuing a warrant of eviction. After a warrant and judgment is issued by the judge, you should contact your County's enforcement officer (the Suffolk or Nassau County Sheriff, or Marshall if within NYC) who will give at least 72 hours notice in writing to the loosing tenant before they will evict them from your property.

Tags: landlord tenant lawyer long island, nassau evictions lawyer, nassau landlord lawyer, suffolk landlord lawyer