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How
do I evict a nonpaying tenant?
Eviction
of a non-paying tenant requires the issuance of a rent demand and, if this
fails to produce payment, the filing of a non-payment petition in Housing
Court. Such proceedings are fraught with procedural pitfalls however. The
demand and petition must be proper in form and service must be in accordance
with statutory requirements. Moreover, the tenant may assert various defenses
- most commonly habitability defenses. Finally, tenants generally have a
right to stop the eviction even after judgment - if the rent is paid prior
to issuance of the warrant of eviction. Often, non-payment actions end up
resulting in negotiated installment agreements with provisions allowing for
eviction if the tenant defaults.
The
basic steps are as follows:
- Rent Demand
- Service and
filing of Non-payment petition along with the notice of petition.
- Tenant Answers
or Defaults (if default, inquest is held, then go to #5)
- Settlement
or Trial
- If Judgment
in landlord’s favor - Judge issues a Warrant of Eviction.
- Execution
of a Warrant of Eviction by a City Marshall (a six day notice).
This
presentation is deceptively simple, however, and you are strongly advised
to consult with an attorney. One helpful resource is Residential Landlord-Tenant
Law in New York by Andrew Sherer. This book addresses the practical elements
of eviction proceedings in detail.
Information
on housing court in also available on this site here and here.
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How
do I find out about converting a building to co-op?
You
should contact the NY State Attorney General's Office, Bureau of Real Estate
Finance (212-416-8170 in Manhattan). This is the office which reviews co-op
and condo conversion plans. See a useful handbook
on their website.
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What
is a "7A Administrator" and how does the appointment of one affect
landlords?
Typically,
a 7A administrator is appointed after a judge determines that a building
contains conditions "dangerous to life, health or safety" which
the building owner has failed to remedy. A 7A administrator may be appointed
after the petition of 1/3 of the tenants in the building or if the City's
Department of Housing Preservation & Development asks the courts to appoint
an administrator. The administrator basically takes control of the building
from the owner and uses the rents to remedy dangerous conditions in the building.
Buildings with 7A administrators are typically in very poor physical condition.
However, if the 7A administrator does his/her job, the building can be brought
back to good (if not excellent) condition.
The
Administrator may cease managing the building upon the occurrence of one
of two things: 1) The administrator is not doing his job correctly; or 2)
The administrator has successfully completed his job and the building no
longer needs his assistance. For more information, contact the City's Citizen
Service Center by dialing 311 and ask for the City's Department
of Housing Preservation and Development's 7A management program.
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I
want to buy a six-family house - how can I find out if it is stabilized
and obtain registration documents for the building?
To
find out FOR SURE whether the building is stabilized, call the NY State Division
of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), the state agency which administers
the rent laws (718-739-6400).
The
DHCR keeps all records relating to rent registration. Before you buy a rent
stabilized building you should ask the seller to show you all the rent registration
materials from the last four years. Remember, if the building has not been
correctly registered or if the current owner is not abiding by the law, you
might get stuck with legal actions from tenants after you buy. Be careful.
If
filing has not been done you should be very leery about buying this building.
You should consult with an attorney or one of the owners' organizations before
buying the building:
- Rent Stabilization
Association (RSA);
- Community Housing
Improvement Program (CHIP); or
- Small Property
Owners of New York (SPONY).
See
their contact telephone number below.
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If
we renovate our building and reduce the number of units from 6 to 5, would
the building be removed from regulation?
No.
Although you as an owner of a rent stabilized building have the right to
take one or more units for your own use, reduction of the total number of
units to less than six would not remove the remaining units from rent stabilization.
Even if a new certificate of occupancy is obtained, tenants in the existing
units would remain under stabilization.
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Does
my tenant's girlfriend have a right to take over a rent stabilized lease
when he leaves?
This
is somewhat complicated. If the unit is rent stabilized and the girlfriend
claims "succession rights" to the apartment, she may be able to
take over the apartment with no increase in rent. However, she would have
to prove that she has this right. She would have to show extensive emotional
and financial interdependence with the tenant for a period of at least two
years, unless the boyfriend’s tenancy was for a shorter period. For
more information on succession, see the DHCR fact
sheet.
If
the girlfriend is not eligible to take over the apartment, or does not claim
this right, you have two choices:
- You can offer
a new lease in her name and charge increases allowed under the Rent Regulation
Reform Act of 1997. These are an 17%* increase if she chooses a one year
lease or a 20% increase for a two year lease. If the boyfriend was in occupancy
for over eight years you may add six tenths of a percent for each year
he was in occupancy, OR
- You can find
another tenant and charge the 17%* or 20% increase.
[*Note:
The 17% & 20% increases are explained on this
page.]
If
you make improvements, you may add 1/40th of the cost to the monthly rent.
In the case of the girlfriend, you would require her written approval for
the improvement increases. If the apartment is vacant, the improvements may
be made without tenant approval.
It
appears that negotiating with the girlfriend will save you the cost and uncertainty
of going through an eviction proceeding. On the other hand, a vacancy gives
you more flexibility with regard to obtaining improvement increases. It's
up to you.
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I
have been cashing a tenant's partner's rent checks - does the partner now
have the right to succeed to the apartment?
Repeated
cashing of rent checks over a long period of time may be found to be evidence
that you accepted the partner’s tenancy. In such case, the partner may
have an argument that s/he has already been accepted as a tenant and that
succession is a moot issue. Nonetheless, a live-in partner does not have
an automatic right to succeed to the apartment simply because you have been
cashing their rent checks. The question is whether your practice of accepting
the checks demonstrates an intent to accept the tenancy.
Assuming
that the partner fails to show that you have already accepted their tenancy,
to succeed to the apartment, the partner would have to provide substantial
proof of emotional and financial interdependence with the tenant of record
- as is true in all succession cases involving nontraditional family members.
For
further information on succession see our FAQ section
on succession rights or contact DHCR at (718) 739-6400. To assess whether
your acceptance of the rent checks have already created a new tenancy, we
suggest you consult with a private attorney.
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I
just bought a stabilized building - where can I find information on managing
and maintaining my property?
We
suggest you contact the Rent Stabilization Association at (212) 214-9200.
This association provides information and assistance to owners of rent stabilized
properties. There is a membership fee.
The
Community Housing Improvement Project (CHIP) can also help. Their number
is (212) 838-7442.
If
you own a small property, try Small Property Owners of New York (SPONY) at
(212) 410-4600.
You
may also wish to contact the NY State Division of Housing and Community Renewal's
(DHCR) Small Building Owners' Assistance Unit (SBOAU) at 718-262-4627. They
can provide assistance with understanding regulations, filing dates, forms,
etc.
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Who
is responsible for recycling - landlords or tenants?
Under
the recycling laws, landlords have four responsibilities. They must:
- Provide a
storage area for recyclables.
- Post and maintain
signs indicating which materials must be recycled. The signs should also
indicate that tenants MUST separate their recyclables into mixed paper,
corrugated cardboard, plastic/glass/metal. Other trash should not be recycled.
- Put recyclables
in special receptacles.
- Remove any
non-recyclable material from recycling cans.
If
you are receiving fines because the tenants are not properly sorting their
trash, you should make sure that the tenants are aware of the provisions
of the law. Put up good signs and distribute brochures indicating exactly
which materials must be recycled and what containers the recyclables go in.
The Department of Sanitation (DOS) will supply you with signs. You can visit
their web
site or call 311 for more information.
If
the tenants are informed and still do not cooperate, you should call the
Department of Sanitation at the number above and they will inspect the building's
trash and try to locate the tenant(s) responsible for the violations. They
may then fine the tenant rather than yourself.
If
you want to contest a fine, look at the back of the ticket (summons) issued
by the Environmental
Control Board for information or see the page on the DOS
web site.
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I
own a small property - where can I get advice and assistance?
The
Small Building Owners' Assistance Unit (SBOAU) was established in 1984 by
the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), to provide
special assistance to owners of rent regulated buildings with a total of
50 units or less. This Unit was especially designed to help small building
owners like you.
The
SBOAU has an office at 92-31 Union Hall Street, 4th Floor, Jamaica, Queens
(718) 262-4627, and offers its services at the Borough and County Rent Offices
throughout the State. At the main office in Queens, there are four counselors
who can sit down with you in person to answer your questions. SBOAU is primarily
a face-to-face service, not a telephone counseling service. They accept visitors
on a walk-in basis. See their fact sheet for
additional information.
If
you prefer to get answers over the phone, call DHCR at its divisional offices:
(212) 961-8930 for Upper Manhattan; (212) 480-6238 for Lower Manhattan; (718)
722-4778 for Brooklyn; or (718) 816-0278 for Staten Island. They can provide
the same information as SBOAU if you are unable to make a visit in person.
The SBOAU provides small building owners with advice on and assists them with:
- Preparation
of forms for allowable rent increases;
- Lease renewal
procedures;
- Applications
for major capital improvement rent increases (MCI);
- Applications
for hardship rent increases;
- Responses
to tenant objections to building registration information;
- Responses
to Fair Market Rent Appeals;
- Responses
to tenant complaints;
- Preparation
of Petitions for Administrative Review (PARs) of Rent Administrator's orders;
- Rent Registration
You
can also try the Small Property Owners of New York (SPONY) at (212) 410-4600.
SPONY is a private organization which advocates for small owners.
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What
can I do about an abusive rent stabilized tenant who has repeatedly insulted
me with foul language and is often drunk?
It
does not appear that the offensive behavior of the type you describe is grounds
for eviction.. As a resident of a rent-stabilized apartment, the tenant usually
has the right to automatic lease renewal. However, there are some instances
when an owner can evict or refuse to renew a lease. Creating a nuisance is
usually a lease violation - although insults, foul language and drunkenness
may not rise to the level of a nuisance. It would probably be best to contact
the police or speak to an attorney to see if the tenant is violating any
other provision of the law such as disturbing the peace. As a practical matter,
you may want to limit your contacts with this person to writing or use of
an intermediary such as a lawyer or managing agent.
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Can
a small landlord represent himself in Housing Court?
The
answer is yes, but it is risky. Landlord/tenant laws in New York are among
the most complex in the nation. We highly recommend that you contact the
Rent Stabilization Association (212) 214-9200 or the Small Property Owners
of New York (212) 410-4600 for advice on how to proceed. While you may have
grounds to evict a tenant, you may be unaware of the various notice and service
requirements which are needed to secure an eviction. Often owners who proceed
without a lawyer find themselves hiring a lawyer after a few failed attempts.
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How
does the number of units affect a building's regulation status?
Rent
controlled units can generally be found in buildings with three or more apartments.
In rare instances, a two family home may be rent controlled if it was occupied
by the same tenant since 1953.
Rent
stabilization generally applies only to buildings with six or more units.
Although smaller buildings may be subject to stabilization if stabilization
is imposed due to a tax abatement (See our FAQ section
on J-51 and 421-a Housing.) Also, the remaining tenants in a building
which is reduced from six to fewer than six units may continue to be rent
stabilized.
For
more information on the differences between rent stabilization and rent control
see this fact sheet.
Other
fact sheets on our site explain in more detail the workings of rent
control and rent stabilization.
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Disclaimer: By
providing answers to frequently asked questions the staff of the Rent
Guidelines Board attempts to clarify the often complex programs and
regulations governing landlord tenant relations in NYC. However the
information provided herein does not represent official policies
or opinions of the City of New York or the Rent Guidelines Board. Nor
should this information be used to substitute for advice of legal counsel.
Updated
7/28/04
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