How to evict a tenant in New York: steps and timeline
In New York a nonpayment case starts with a written demand for the rent that gives at least 14 days to pay or leave (RPAPL 711). If it goes unpaid, you serve a notice of petition and petition under RPAPL 735, the court hears it within days of the tenant answering, and a marshal or sheriff must give 14 days' written notice before carrying out the warrant. Only a special proceeding can remove a tenant, and locking one out is a crime.
What is the 14-day rent demand?
RPAPL 711 starts by saying no tenant or lawful occupant of a dwelling may be removed from possession except in a special proceeding. For nonpayment, subdivision 2 requires that the tenant has defaulted in the rent under the agreement and that a written demand of the rent, giving at least fourteen days' notice to pay the rent or give up possession, has been served as prescribed in section 735. The 14-day notice must append or contain the additional notice required by the Real Property Law. Some homes are also covered by New York's good cause rules; our guides to good cause eviction and just cause in New York explain who qualifies.
How do you serve the petition?
Section 735 allows personal delivery to the respondent, or leaving the papers with a suitable adult who lives or works there if admittance can be had. If neither works after a reasonable try, you may affix them to a conspicuous part of the property or put them under the entrance door. Within one day after any of those steps you must mail copies by registered or certified mail and by regular first-class mail, and file the notice, petition and proof of service within three days after the applicable service step.
How long is the court process?
RPAPL 733 has the notice of petition and petition served at least ten and not more than seventeen days before the time the petition is noticed to be heard. RPAPL 732 adds faster steps for nonpayment cases, but only in courts whose appellate division rules adopt it, so ask the clerk which applies. Where it does, the notice of petition is returnable within ten days after service; if the tenant answers, the clerk fixes a hearing not less than three nor more than eight days after joinder of issue, and issuing the warrant is not stayed more than five days except under Section 753; and if the tenant does not answer within ten days, the judge renders judgment for the petitioner. Filing fees vary by court.
Who removes the tenant, and when?
RPAPL 749 directs the warrant of eviction to the sheriff of the county, or to a city marshal or constable where the property is in a city. The officer must give at least fourteen days' written notice to the people being evicted, served like a notice of petition. The warrant states the earliest date it may be executed, and execution happens on a business day between sunrise and sunset. In a nonpayment case the court must vacate the warrant if the full rent due is tendered or deposited before execution, unless the landlord shows the tenant withheld the rent in bad faith.
Example a made-up landlord serves a 14-day rent demand on Monday, November 2, 2026. It expires on Monday, November 16. The landlord serves the notice of petition on Wednesday, November 18, for a hearing on Tuesday, December 1, 13 days later and inside the 10 to 17 day window. The judge awards a warrant that day and the marshal serves a 14-day notice on Thursday, December 3, so the earliest removal is Thursday, December 17. From the demand that is 45 days. If the tenant pays all the rent due before then, the warrant is vacated.
What counts as an unlawful eviction in New York?
RPAPL 768 protects an occupant who has lawfully occupied a unit for thirty consecutive days or longer, and anyone who has a lease for it. It makes it unlawful to use or threaten force to make the occupant leave, to interrupt or discontinue essential services as part of a course of conduct that disturbs the occupant, to change the lock on the entrance door without supplying the occupant a key, to remove or disable the door or lock, or to remove the occupant's possessions. A person who intentionally violates it is guilty of a class A misdemeanor, and the section also sets a civil penalty of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000 for each violation.
How DoorKeeping handles it
DoorKeeping tracks rent and late fees in each property's books and keeps the tenant ledger that shows what the demand covers. Your lease and papers sit with the tenant's documents and you can email tenants. It does not serve notices or file petitions. DoorKeeping gives general information, not legal advice. If a case is contested, or the tenant files an answer, talk to a local attorney.
Sources
- N.Y. Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law 711, read Oct 30, 2026
- N.Y. RPAPL 732 (nonpayment notice of petition), read Oct 30, 2026
- N.Y. RPAPL 733 (time of service), read Oct 30, 2026
- N.Y. RPAPL 735 (service), read Oct 30, 2026
- N.Y. RPAPL 749 (warrant of eviction), read Oct 30, 2026
- N.Y. RPAPL 768 (unlawful eviction), read Oct 30, 2026
Questions
- How much notice does a New York landlord give for unpaid rent?
- A written demand for the rent with at least fourteen days' notice to pay or give up possession (RPAPL 711(2)).
- Can a New York landlord change the locks on a tenant?
- No. Changing the lock without supplying the occupant a key, removing the door, cutting essential services or removing possessions is unlawful under RPAPL 768 and can be a class A misdemeanor.
- Can a tenant stop the warrant by paying?
- In a nonpayment case the court must vacate the warrant if the full rent due is tendered or deposited before execution, unless the landlord shows the tenant withheld it in bad faith (RPAPL 749).