- A licensee holdover proceeding is a court case started by a landlord/owner/person entitled to possession to get back control of the property from a person that they did not rent to. A licensee is someone who was given permission, by the tenant or occupant, to stay in a home without the permission of the landlord and without paying rent.
Note: If someone has lived in a home for at least 30 days (with or without a lease), you can’t change the locks and throw the tenant out without going to court. This is called an illegal eviction and is a misdemeanor.
Cases Tenants May Start:
- HP case (Housing Part case) may be started by a tenant in the Housing Part of the Civil Court to ask for repairs and the enforcement of housing standards. If you have conditions or violations in your home which need to be repaired, including lack of heat and hot water or lack of other services, or have other emergency conditions, you may begin a proceeding against your landlord to force the landlord to make repairs and correct the building violations.
- An illegal lockout happens when the landlord or another occupant unlawfully stops the tenant from entering the apartment. If you have legally occupied an apartment for at least 30 days (with or without a lease), you may not be evicted or prevented from entering the apartment without a court order awarding a judgment of possession and warrant of eviction against you. A judgment of possession gives the landlord the right to occupy the apartment. A warrant of eviction describes the property/home and allows a marshal or sheriff to remove the occupants and give possession to another. An illegal lockout is a violation of the "illegal eviction law" and is a misdemeanor.
- A tenant may begin a licensee holdover proceeding to take possession of the apartment/home or evict a guest when a guest has been in the apartment for more than 30 days and is refusing to leave. A licensee is someone that the tenant has invited to live in the home without permission of the landlord and does not pay rent.
- A Harassment proceeding may be started if your landlord/owner is trying to force you to move out because you have made prior complaints against the Landlord or because you have participated in activities of a tenant organization and you live in an apartment with three apartments or more, and your building is not a government building.
- A Roommate Holdover is a case that is started to make a roommate leave the apartment or house that you share. A roommate is someone who has agreed to pay you rent. You cannot lock your roommate out of the home you share without a court order.
- Article 7A (RPAPL) proceeding may be started if an entire building has serious problems, such as no heat, electricity, or hot water, or a lack of basic maintenance or services. At least one-third of all tenants in the building are needed to start an Article 7A case. For general questions you can contact the NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development (DHPD) at (212) 863-6300.
Steps in A Landlord-Tenant Case
If the petitioner and respondent in a landlord-tenant case cannot agree on how to solve their case, it will go to trial. The basic steps in landlord-tenant cases are described on this page.
- Before the Case is Started
In most cases, the law says that the tenant or the person living in the home must be given notice before the landlord can start a court case. The type of notice given depends on the type of case. The notice must be given to the tenant or the person living in the home, the way the law requires. - The notice gives the tenant or person living in the home the chance:
- To pay rent owed; or
- To fix the problem or condition; or
- To move out of the home by a certain date.
The respondent must Answer the Petition and tell the Court any defenses they may have to the case. Learn more about Answering the Case and Common Defenses.
Use the Court Locator box on this page to find the address and other useful information for the court you are scheduled to appear at.
If you are in court for an HP (Housing Part) case, you will go to the HP Part. The HP only hears cases brought by tenants or by New York City to enforce laws requiring repairs in residential buildings.
The Warrant of Eviction is the paper that permits the actual eviction. The Warrant describes the home/property and directs the City Marshall/Sheriff to remove all persons from the home/property.
If you need to go back to court to ask the Judge to do something you may file an Order to Show Cause (OSC). An Order to Show Cause is a written request to the court to ask for some relief or action. It is used to bring something to the court’s attention quickly and can be used to ask the court to stop what is happening until the court date. It is a quick way to make a motion.
Related Information:
- Answering a Case as a Tenant
- Answering a Case as a Landlord
- People that Work in the Courtroom
