holdover proceeding

May 1, 2017 By James D. Murtha, Esq. Leave a Comment

What is a holdover proceeding?

A hold-over proceeding is one of the two basic types of eviction proceedings in New York that allow a landlord to evict his or her tenant. It allows a landlord to recover possession of the property from the tenant based on reasons OTHER than the failure to pay rent. If you’re simply looking to evict a tenant based solely on their failure to pay rent, and you don’t mind if he stays as a tenant if he pays all the back rent in full, then you may want to consider a non-payment proceeding instead of a hold-over proceeding.

April 30, 2017 By James D. Murtha, Esq. 3 Comments

What is a non-payment proceeding?

A non-payment proceeding is a type of eviction proceeding where the landlord is seeking to evict the tenant based on the tenant’s failure to pay rent. In a non-payment proceeding, the money sought by the landlord must be back rent or additional rent only, not money for repairs or damages; and it must have accrued in the past 6 months only. You cannot collect back rent from more than six months ago. This is known as the doctrine of stale rent, or more properly, “laches,” and it is like a statute of limitations on lawsuits for rent. At least five days after the rent is due, the landlord must also have sent a notice to the tenant by certified mail informing the tenant that the landlord has failed to receive the rent within five days of its due date. After that the landlord must arrange to have a 14-day notice served on the tenant before bringing a non-payment proceeding. The 14-day notice essentially demands that the tenant pay all of the back rent in full within 14 days, or move out. It lets the tenant know that if he does neither, the landlord will evict him. At the expiration of the 14-day timeframe, if the tenant still has not paid all rent due and owing, or moved out, the landlord may file a non-payment proceeding.

April 3, 2017 By James D. Murtha, Esq. Leave a Comment

Eviction FAQs: I would like to know how to evict a tenant. Can you explain the procedure to me?

In New York, there are essentially two ways you can evict your tenant. The first is a non-payment proceeding. This is when the tenant stops paying rent, and you want to evict him based on his failure to pay rent. In a non-payment proceeding, the landlord is primarily concerned with money. If the tenant shows up to court and pays all the back rent claimed by the landlord, the non-payment proceeding will be dismissed, and the tenant will be allowed to stay in the apartment. This is commonly referred to as, “pay and stay.”

The second type of eviction proceeding is a hold-over proceeding. A hold-over proceeding is when a landlord wants to evict a tenant even if the tenant pays the rent on time. A hold-over proceeding is based on any lawful reason other than the failure to pay rent. This can occur after the expiration of a lease term if the landlord is not interested in renewing the lease and the tenant refuses to move, or if the tenant pays rent on time but there is some other issue, like if the tenant violates the terms of the lease, throws loud parties and disturbs the neighbors. If you just want your tenant to leave, even if he or she pays the rent in full, you probably want to initiate a holdover proceeding to evict your tenant.

Hold-over proceedings are also used to remove occupants who are not tenants. These include licensees, persons whose occupancy is incident to employment, squatters and certain other classes of occupants.

The procedures for initiating both types of actions are highly technical, and I’ll discuss each in further detail in future videos. Decide if a non-payment proceeding or a hold-over proceeding is best for you, and watch more of our videos or visit our website to learn more. As always, you can give me a call, right now, to discuss the best way to evict your tenant.

July 10, 2011 By James D. Murtha, Esq. Leave a Comment

Trying to Evict your Long Island Tenant Yourself via a Holdover Proceeding or a Non-Payment Proceeding? Beware of These Pitfalls

Trying to evict your Long Island tenant yourself is not advisable due to the complexity of the legal issues and requirements involved (see here for details), but if you do attempt it on your own, here’s some general tips: