We get eviction questions a lot. Typically, what’s happening in a multi-family, is, you’re not getting paid. This is how the eviction process plays out:
There’s a five-day demand notice that goes out in New York state.
There’s a five to seven-day grace period.
After that, we send out a five-day demand notice. That demand notice goes to an attorney by certified mail.
The next step is a 14-day pay rent or quit, and that is through a process server. That can’t be served by you or anyone associated with you or the management company. Typically, you hire a process server. They range between $100 and $200 on the high side. And then, after the process server takes the 14 day pay rent or quit, that is, they have 14 days to pay the rent owed or they are breaking their lease.
There are three attempts at knocking on the door to serve that 14 days. If they do not, it’s called nail and mail, and they will pin the 14-day notice to the door, and then they will send a certified copy as well, and they will send all of that over to your eviction attorney.
After that, the eviction attorney will then file for a petition to evict that will be sent to the courts and your attorney will be given a court date on the eviction.
From there, your notice will be sent to the tenants and what often happens is once you get to this step, the tenants start to begin conversing with your attorney. And if it does go to court, the attorney shows up, the tenants show up, and then the judge will rule on whether or not the eviction petition can be signed.
If it is signed and there’s an agreement reached, then the petition to evict will be sent over to the sheriff’s department and the attorney’s office.
Once the sheriff receives it, they will then give, usually, a 15-day window. And the tenant must get out, or the sheriffs will move them out.
So there is the eviction process in NY.
If you have any questions on eviction or any other property management, remember to be clever, ask a professional.
