ny-nyc-housing-court

name: ny-nyc-housing-court description: > Use when drafting or filing in the Housing Part of NYC Civil Court — the dedicated summary-proceedings forum for RPAPL Article 7 nonpayment and holdover petitions across five boroughs (largest L&T forum in country, ~200,000+ filings annually pre-COVID). Triggers include 'NYC Housing Court', 'Housing Part', 'RPAPL 711', 'nonpayment petition', 'holdover petition', '14-day rent demand', 'Right to Counsel NYC', 'Local Law 136', 'ERAP stay', 'good cause eviction NYC'. Covers RPAPL § 711(2) 14-day rent-demand (post-HSTPA 2019); RPL § 226-c 30/60/90-day holdover notice; NYC Local Law 136 universal right-to-counsel; ERAP automatic-stay; NYCHA/Section 8 termination; rent-regulated defenses; warranty-of-habitability counterclaims under RPL § 235-b; and 2024 Good Cause Eviction Law. NOT a substitute for ny-nyc-civil-court (distinct calendar). version: 0.1.2

NYC Housing Court (Civil Court of the City of New York — Housing Part)

NOT LEGAL ADVICE. Verify the borough-specific Housing Part procedures and any building-specific regulatory classification (Rent Stabilization, Section 8, NYCHA, Loft Law) before drafting an answer or petition.

At a glance

• Court: Housing Part of the Civil Court of the City of New York — established under NYC Civil Court Act § 110 with the 22 NYCRR § 208.42 Housing Part rules overlay
• Jurisdiction: RPAPL Article 7 summary proceedings; no monetary cap on rent arrears; can hear contract claims related to the tenancy
• Filing fee: $45 for the petition (Civil Court Act § 1911); waivable on poor-person status under CPLR 1101
• Headquarters per borough (each Housing Part shares facilities with the borough Civil Court courthouse):
  • NY County Housing Court: 111 Centre Street, NY NY
  • Kings Housing Court: 141 Livingston Street, Brooklyn
  • Bronx Housing Court: 1118 Grand Concourse, Bronx
  • Queens Housing Court: 89-17 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica
  • Richmond Housing Court: 927 Castleton Avenue, Staten Island
• E-filing: UCMS with Housing Part-specific document codes; pro se filings often accepted in person at the clerk's office

Petition types

The two principal summary-proceeding flavors under RPAPL Article 7:

Nonpayment (RPAPL § 711(2))

The landlord alleges the tenant owes rent and has not paid after demand. Required predicate notice:

• 14-day written rent demand (post-2019 HSTPA — was 3 days pre-HSTPA). The demand must:
  • identify the amount due, by month
  • identify the lease provision the landlord relies on
  • be served personally or by conspicuous-place service under RPAPL § 735
  • NOT be filed before 14 days have elapsed
• An oral demand satisfies the statute only if the rent is current — i.e., the demand was for prospective rent — which is rare; written demand is the rule.
• After 14-day window, the Notice of Petition + Petition may be filed and served.

Holdover (RPAPL § 711(1))

The landlord alleges the tenancy has expired or been terminated (lease end, lease violation, no-lease tenant holding over). Required predicate notice depends on the tenancy length (RPL § 226-c, as amended by HSTPA 2019):

For lease-violation holdovers, the landlord must serve a Notice to Cure specifying the violation and giving a reasonable cure period (often 10 days for most violations in the residential context), then a Notice of Termination if not cured, before filing the holdover petition.

Distinctives

14-day rent demand is jurisdictional

Service of a defective rent demand (e.g., wrong amount, incorrect lease cite, served too soon) is a complete defense to a nonpayment petition. Post-HSTPA case law treats the 14-day demand requirement as jurisdictional — the Housing Part will dismiss without prejudice rather than excuse a defective predicate notice.

NYC Right to Counsel (Local Law 136 of 2017)

NYC Admin Code § 26-1301 et seq. provides universal right to counsel for tenants in eviction proceedings who meet income thresholds (in 2026, 200% of federal poverty guidelines). Coverage rolled out by ZIP code 2017-2022 and is now citywide. Tenant attorneys assigned through:

• Legal Aid Society Civil Practice
• Legal Services NYC
• The Bronx Defenders
• Brooklyn Defender Services
• Volunteers of Legal Service
• CAMBA Legal Services
• Mobilization for Justice

The court's intake desk routes pending RTC referrals at first appearance. Pro se tenants should request a referral before answering on the merits.

ERAP (Emergency Rental Assistance Program) — automatic stay

A pending ERAP application automatically stays an eviction proceeding under L 2021, ch 56 / Part BB. The stay runs from the date of application through agency determination. The landlord cannot proceed to judgment while the stay is active. Verify ERAP application status (NYS OTDA) before any motion or trial.

Rent regulation overlays

NYC rent regulation includes overlapping schemes — verify applicability before drafting:

• Rent Stabilization — pre-1974 buildings with 6+ units; registration with DHCR; tenants have renewal rights under 9 NYCRR § 2521.5 and the post-HSTPA 6-year overcharge lookback under RSL § 26-516
• Rent Control — pre-1947 buildings; vanishingly few units remain; max-base-rent and capital-improvement caps
• Loft Law — pre-1980 industrial buildings converted to residential; coverage determined by NY State Loft Board
• NYCHA — public housing; federal grievance-procedure preempts much state L&T law
• Section 8 — voucher tenants; "good cause" termination required under federal regulations
• Mitchell-Lama — middle-income limited-equity coops / rentals; HCR-administered

Warranty of habitability counterclaim (RPL § 235-b)

Tenants routinely raise an implied warranty of habitability counterclaim seeking rent abatement for conditions (infestations, lack of heat/hot water, mold, leaks). The abatement is calculated as a percentage of the rent for the period of impairment. The Housing Part has dedicated Repair Parts that hear consolidated habitability applications.

2024 Good Cause Eviction (NYC opt-in plus statewide)

RPL Article 6-A took effect April 2024. In NYC, applies by default to most market-rate units. The landlord must have good cause for non-renewal of an unregulated tenancy. "Good cause" grounds:

• Non-payment after notice and cure right
• Lease violation
• Landlord recovering for personal/family use
• Removing unit from rental market
• Tenant nuisance

The law caps unreasonable rent increases at the greater of 10% or 5% + CPI. Increases above the cap are presumptively unreasonable and the tenant can challenge in Housing Court.

Pathway Home + diversion programs

Several NYC programs route Housing Part cases to mediation or rental-assistance before judgment — Pathway Home, the HRA One-Shot Deal, FHEPS rental subsidies, CityFHEPS. Verify program eligibility for the tenant at first appearance.

Filing checklist (landlord side)

1. Predicate notice — 14-day rent demand or 30/60/90-day holdover notice, served per RPAPL § 735
2. Notice of Petition + Petition — RPAPL § 731-732, served by RPAPL § 735 (5-day rapid service or conspicuous- place with mail follow-up)
3. Filing fee — $45; submit affidavit of service
4. First appearance — typically 10-17 days from service; tenant may answer in writing or orally
5. Adjournments for RTC referral and ERAP stay are routine

Filing checklist (tenant side)

1. Verify regulation — Rent Stabilization, Section 8, NYCHA, Loft Law status before drafting answer
2. Request RTC referral at first appearance — NYC Admin Code § 26-1301 universal right to counsel
3. Check ERAP — automatic stay if application pending
4. Affirmative defenses + counterclaims:
   • Defective predicate notice
   • Defective service (RPAPL § 735 hyper-technical requirements)
   • Warranty of habitability under RPL § 235-b
   • Retaliatory eviction under RPL § 223-b
   • HSTPA security-deposit cap violation (GOL § 7-108(1-a))
   • Good Cause Eviction protection for unregulated tenancies
   • NYC HRL / NYS HRL discrimination
   • Rent overcharge under RSL § 26-516 (6-year lookback)
5. Pre-answer relief: motion to dismiss for defective predicate notice or service under CPLR 3211

Composition with other ny- skills

• ny-statewide-format — baseline 22 NYCRR Part 202 format with Part 208 Civil Court / § 208.42 Housing Part adjustments
• ny-nyc-civil-court — the parent Civil Court structure
• ny-county-courts — Long Island L&T routes to Nassau / Suffolk District Court Housing Parts (see ny-nassau-dc, ny-suffolk-dc); upstate routes to City Court / Justice Court (see ny-city-courts, ny-justice-courts)
• ny-landlord-tenant — comprehensive L&T subject bundle (RPAPL + HSTPA + Good Cause + warranty of habitability + rent regulation regimes)
• ny-first-30-days — Answer / motion-to-dismiss triage
• ny-pro-se — pro se framework
• ny-discovery — disclosure in summary proceedings (limited by default; available with court permission)
• ny-file-packet — UCMS / Housing Part assembly

Pro-se resources

• NYC Tenant Helpline: 311 → Tenant Support
• Right to Counsel referral at every Housing Part intake desk
• Met Council on Housing — tenant counseling
• CityFHEPS / FHEPS — rental subsidy applications
• Pathway Home — pre-judgment mediation / settlement
• Office of the Public Advocate — Tenant Rights hotline
• Legal Aid Society Civil Practice — direct legal aid