Which court hears a New York City eviction?
Every residential eviction in the city goes to the Housing Part of the Civil Court of the City of New York, in the borough where the building sits. The main courthouses are 141 Livingston Street in Brooklyn, 1118 Grand Concourse in the Bronx, 111 Centre Street in Manhattan, 89-17 Sutphin Boulevard in Jamaica, Queens, and 927 Castleton Avenue on Staten Island. Some neighborhoods are assigned to the Harlem and Red Hook community justice centers instead.
The clerk charges $45 to issue a notice of petition, payable by cash, certified check, money order or bank check, not a personal check. You can’t serve the papers yourself. A non-party over 18, usually a licensed process server, serves them on any day but Sunday, and the affirmation of service goes back to the clerk within three days.
The state rules in one paragraph
Underneath the city layer, the case follows Article 7 of the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law: a 14-day rent demand, a petition served 10 to 17 days before the first court date, a mandatory 14-day adjournment on request and a 14-day notice before the lockout. Our New York eviction process guide walks through each of those steps, the Good Cause grounds and the payment rules. Everything below is what changes once the building is inside city limits.
HPD registration comes before any rent case
If you skip one filing, make it not this one. Owners of multiple dwellings, meaning three or more units, must register with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development every year by September 1, and again within five days when the owner, officers or managing agent change. Valid registration needs both the form and the $13 fee billed on your Department of Finance statement.
According to HPD, a building without a valid registration can’t start a court case to recover possession for nonpayment of rent. Since Local Law 71 of 2023, failing to register also carries a civil penalty of $1,000 to $5,000 for a building with more than five units. Pull a certified copy of the registration ($8 from HPD) before your attorney files, and fix any lapse first.
Rent-stabilized buildings have a second, separate filing: the annual apartment registration with New York State Homes and Community Renewal, due July 31. HPD warns that HCR can fine $500 per unregistered unit for each month a registration is late, and a stale rent history invites an overcharge defense in the case itself.
Rent stabilization and the 2026 rent freeze
A rent-stabilized tenant is entitled to a renewal lease, so a holdover is only possible on the grounds in the Rent Stabilization Code. Section 2524.3 lists the tenant-fault grounds, such as a substantial lease violation not cured within 10 days of a written notice (15 days if the notice is mailed), a nuisance, illegal use or refusing reasonable access. Section 2524.2 then requires a termination notice stating the ground and the facts: at least 7 days for most fault grounds and 90 to 150 days before lease expiration for owner occupancy.
Nonpayment cases need no termination notice under the code, but the rent demanded must be the legal regulated rent. On June 25, 2026, the Rent Guidelines Board adopted Order 58, which sets a 0% increase for both one-year and two-year leases starting October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. Arrears built on an increase the order doesn’t allow are not collectible, and a judge will check.
- Fault holdover: 10-day notice to cure, then a termination notice of at least 7 days (RSC 2524.2, 2524.3).
- Refusal to sign a proper renewal: 15 days’ notice after the expiring lease ends (RSC 2524.3(f)).
- Owner or family occupancy: notice 90 to 150 days before the lease expires (RSC 2524.2(c)(3)).
- Unregulated units in older buildings may still fall under state Good Cause Eviction, which applies automatically citywide.
Right to Counsel: plan on a lawyer across the aisle
New York City was the first city to guarantee tenants a lawyer in Housing Court. Under Administrative Code 26-1302, every tenant in a covered case gets brief legal assistance by the first court date, and tenants who are 60 or older or whose household income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines get full representation. The Human Resources Administration says the program now reaches every ZIP code, regardless of immigration status.
For an owner, that changes the math more than the law. A represented tenant will check the registration, the rent history, the demand and the service. Expect the first appearance to be about getting counsel assigned and the 14-day adjournment, and treat a clean file as your fastest path.
City marshals, the 14-day notice and lockout day
Once the court issues the warrant, you hire a city marshal or ask the sheriff to carry it out. Marshals are appointed by the mayor and regulated by the Department of Investigation, they are not city employees, and they charge the same fees the sheriff does. Only marshals and deputy sheriffs can request a warrant from the court.
The marshal serves a Notice of Eviction on a DOI-approved form, the same way a petition is served, and since 2025 DOI also expects the notice to be filed electronically within 24 hours. The eviction can happen on or after the 15th day after service, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on a weekday that isn’t a legal holiday. If more than 30 days pass from the earliest eviction date, or a court stay later lifts, the marshal must serve a fresh notice.
You choose between a full eviction, where a licensed mover takes belongings to a warehouse, and a legal possession, where the locks change and the property stays in your care until the tenant collects it. If the marshal finds an occupant who can’t fend for themselves, DOI and Adult Protective Services are notified and the eviction is usually postponed about two weeks.
City checkpoints before and during the case
Most NYC cases that stall do so on a city requirement, not a state deadline. Run down this list before the demand goes out.
| Checkpoint | When it matters | Source |
|---|---|---|
| HPD property registration valid | Before filing any nonpayment case | Admin Code 27-2107; HPD |
| HCR apartment registration filed | Every July 31 for stabilized units | HCR; HPD notice |
| Rent demanded equals legal regulated rent | In every stabilized nonpayment case | RGB Order 58; RSC |
| Notice to cure, then termination notice | Before any stabilized holdover | RSC 2524.2, 2524.3 |
| Tenant offered Right to Counsel | At the first court appearance | Admin Code 26-1302 |
| Marshal’s Notice of Eviction served | At least 14 days before the lockout | DOI; RPAPL 749 |
Worked example: what a lapsed HPD registration costs
Assume a rent-stabilized two-bedroom at $1,750 a month in a 30-unit Bronx building, a tenant who stops paying and a clean nonpayment case on the shortest state path. A day of rent is about $57.53. The demand goes out on day 1, the petition is served on day 16 and the first court date is day 26. With judgment that day and the marshal serving the notice the same day, the eviction can happen on day 41: about $2,359 of lost rent.
Now assume the HPD registration had lapsed at the September 1 deadline. The petition is dismissed on day 26. If you fix the registration and serve a fresh demand on day 40, the new first court date is day 65 and the earliest eviction is day 80. That is about $4,603 of lost rent, $2,244 more, plus a second $45 petition fee and exposure to a $1,000 to $5,000 HPD penalty.
| Scenario | Earliest eviction | Lost rent at $57.53 a day | Extra court cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valid HPD registration | Day 41 | $2,359 | None |
| Registration lapsed, case refiled | Day 80 | $4,603 | $45 second petition |
When an emergency grant can end the case
Many city nonpayment cases end with money rather than a marshal. HRA runs emergency rental assistance, often called a One Shot Deal, and city programs such as FHEPS can cover arrears and future rent for eligible households. Because state law makes the court vacate a nonpayment warrant if the full rent is paid before execution, an approved grant usually closes the file. Keep your ledger current and answer HRA verification requests quickly, since a delayed landlord letter can hold up payment.
Selling a New York City building with tenants in place
You can sell during a Housing Court case. The buyer takes the building subject to every stabilized lease, the registration history and any open case, and its attorney can be substituted or start over after closing. Hand over the HPD and HCR registrations, the rent histories, the petition, any stipulation and the ledger, plus tenant estoppel certificates.
Skyline Capital Investments buys apartment buildings with five or more units across the five boroughs, including rent-stabilized buildings with nonpaying tenants or cases already on the calendar. Send the address and unit count through the form on this page or call (469) 660-2977. We typically respond within 48 hours.
