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Holdover Case

A holdover case is brought by a landlord to evict a tenant or the person in the apartment for reasons other than simple non-payment of rent. A holdover case is much more complicated than a non-payment case. The information given below is very general and there can be a number of differences in individual cases. Therefore, the help of a lawyer is especially important in holdover cases. (See "Where I Can Go for Help?")

Here are some important information for a holdover case:


Legal Papers You Should Receive Before You Have to Go to Court

  • Notice to cure - The landlord is usually, but not always, required to give you a written "notice to cure." This notice will tell you how the landlord thinks you are breaking your lease or acting in a way that is not appropriate for a tenant. It gives you a chance to correct the problem before a case begins.
  • Notice of termination - Before court papers are delivered to you, the landlord must in almost all cases also give you a written "notice of termination." If you have received a notice to cure, you will likely receive the notice of termination about ten days later. This notice must give you details regarding how the landlord believes you broke your lease or regarding any other behavior for which the landlord is trying to end or terminate your lease. The notice must also tell you that you must be out of your apartment by a specific date or that the landlord will take you to court to evict you.
  • Notice to quit - If the landlord was not required to give you a notice to cure or a notice of termination, you may simply receive a notice which tells you that you must be out of the apartment by a specific date (usually ten days after the notice is delivered to you). This notice, sometimes called a "Notice to Quit," may explain why the landlord believes that you do not have any right to stay in the apartment.
  • Holdover petition and notice of petition - After the date listed in the notice of termination or notice to quit by which the landlord wants you out of your apartment, you must be given court papers called the "holdover petition" and "notice of petition" to bring you to court.
  • Generally these notices must all be given to you in one of the ways described in the section "How Are Legal Papers 'Served'?"

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What to do after receiving the holdover petition

The holdover petition will tell you the court address, the courtroom number (also usually referred to as "Part" with a letter of the alphabet after it), and the date and time to show up at Housing Court, usually within two weeks of the date you received the court papers. You must be in court on your court date and on time. You should be there early enough to get through security at the entrance to the courthouse and to find the courtroom and get a seat. (See "What Do I Do When I Go Before the Judge?")

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How to answer the holdover petition

Holdover cases are far more complicated than nonpayment cases. The first thing you should do is see if you can get an attorney. Click here for help finding an attorney.

The simplest way to answer is in person with the help of the Landlord-Tenant Clerk. If you have questions about how to answer the petition or about what will happen on your court date, you can go to the "Resource Center" in the Housing Court in each borough.

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What you might say in your answer

You can defend yourself against the holdover petition by showing any of the following (NOTE that this is not a complete list of all possible defenses):

  • What the landlord claims you did or did not do is not true, or is not as serious as the landlord claims it is.
  • The notice to cure or notice of termination does not contain enough specific information to allow you to defend against the landlord's case.
  • One or more of the forms was not given to you properly. (See "How Are Legal Papers 'Served'?")
  • The landlord accepted rent from you AFTER the date listed in the notice of termination AND before you were served with the notice of petition and holdover petition.
  • The landlord is suing to "get even" because you recently complained to a government agency or joined a tenants' association.
  • The notice to cure or notice of termination was not signed by the landlord or an authorized agent.
  • Even though you did not have a lease in your name, you are a family member of the prior tenant and lived with that tenant before he or she left the apartment.
  • The apartment you live in is an illegal apartment.

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Free day care at Housing Court

If you have young children, you should check to see whether the Housing Court in your borough has day care. If it does, you should get to court before your scheduled time so you have time to leave your children at day care. Day care is free of charge.

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