I got an eviction notice.

A notice is a legal document, and the specific wording tells you exactly what stage you're at, what deadline applies, and what defenses you may have. It also tells you whether the notice is valid — landlord errors in notices are a common reason evictions get dismissed. You cannot afford to lose or ignore any paper you receive, even if it looks like junk mail.

As you read, fill in the checklist below. It captures everything a lawyer or legal advocate will need from you, and it will stay filled in for later steps on this page.

Every paper your landlord or a process server gives you. Every envelope (postmarks matter). Every lease, rent receipt, text message, and email. Photograph everything front and back, save it to your phone, and back it up to cloud storage or email it to yourself. Papers get lost. Evidence that's only on your kitchen table is evidence you can't use.

Don't sign anything the landlord, their attorney, or a process server hands you beyond acknowledging receipt. If you're asked to sign a “stipulation,” a payment plan, or anything that ends with the word “agreement” — stop, take a photo, and call a lawyer before signing.

NYC's Universal Access to Counsel program (often called “Right to Counsel”) provides a free attorney to any tenant in Housing Court whose income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. Tenants with lawyers win their cases or get far better settlements more than 80% of the time; tenants without lawyers usually lose. Immigration status does not affect eligibility — city-funded legal services are available to all qualified tenants regardless of citizenship or status. This is the most important thing you can do after reading the notice.

1. Call Housing Court Answers at 212-962-4795. They are a nonprofit that helps every NYC tenant connect to the right legal services provider for their borough and case type. This is usually the fastest single call you can make.
2. Or go to the courthouse. Every Housing Courthouse has a Help Center staffed by court attorneys who can explain the process and a Right to Counsel intake table that screens you for free-lawyer eligibility on the spot. Go early on the day of your court date, or any weekday before.
3. Call a legal services provider directly if you already know which one serves your borough. (See the “Free help” list near the bottom of this page.)
4. If your income is above the Right to Counsel threshold, Housing Court Answers and Met Council can still refer you to sliding-scale legal services, clinics, and pro bono programs. You may also consider a private tenant attorney — the cost is almost always lower than losing your home.

Your intake checklist from Step 1 will auto-populate here — so you can read from it while on the phone. If anything is still blank, you can fill it in either place.

Intake usually takes 15–30 minutes on the phone. If you qualify, you'll be connected with a legal services provider who will assign your case to an attorney. That attorney will represent you at every court appearance and help negotiate with the landlord's attorney. Free legal services are busy, but Housing Court cases are handled urgently — same-day or next-day intake is common when a court date is imminent.

Housing Court cases are won and lost on one thing more than any other: whether the tenant shows up. If you miss your court date without a reason the court accepts, the landlord gets a default judgment, which almost always ends in eviction. If you're pre-court (a rent demand, notice to cure, notice of termination), responding properly and on time can prevent a court case from being filed at all.

1. Confirm the date, time, and courthouse. NYC Housing Court has a dedicated courthouse in every borough, and you must attend the one listed on your legal papers. Most first appearances happen 10–14 days after service. Write it in multiple places and set a phone alarm.
2. Show up early. Lines and security screening can take 20–40 minutes. Get there at least an hour before your scheduled time. Bring photo ID and every document you've collected.
3. Check in at the clerk's desk with your court index number. Then go to the Help Center and the Right to Counsel intake table. If you aren't already represented, ask to be screened on the spot.
4. Do not sign anything without a lawyer. The landlord's attorney will likely approach you in the hallway and offer a “stipulation” (a written settlement). Even if it sounds reasonable, ask for an adjournment (a continuance) to speak with a lawyer. Judges grant adjournments for this purpose regularly.

If you've lost your papers, here's where to go by borough:

• Manhattan — New York County Housing Court, 111 Centre Street, New York, NY 10013
• Bronx — Bronx County Housing Court, 1118 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY 10456
• Brooklyn — Kings County Housing Court, 141 Livingston Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
• Queens — Queens County Housing Court, 89-17 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, NY 11435
• Staten Island — Richmond County Housing Court, 927 Castleton Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10310

Some Upper Manhattan cases may be heard at the Harlem Community Justice Center, 170 East 121st Street.

If you've lost your index number or want to double-check your next date, you can look up your case on the NYS eCourts WebCivil Local portal. Search by index number for the fastest result; search by party name if you don't have the number. Note: closed landlord-tenant cases remain visible on WebCivil Local for only about 14 days after they're decided — for older records, visit the Clerk's Office in person.

Call the court's clerk immediately to request an adjournment, and follow up in writing (email or letter). Document your reason (illness, work obligation, hospitalization, family emergency). Showing up late is always better than not showing up at all.

• For a 14-day rent demand: Paying the full amount demanded within 14 days generally stops a nonpayment case from being filed. But if you dispute any of the amount (you made payments the landlord hasn't credited; there are conditions in the apartment that should reduce the rent; you don't actually owe it), don't pay without a lawyer's advice — once you pay, your defenses go away.
• For a notice to cure: If the landlord claims you violated the lease, you generally have a cure period (often 10 days) to fix the problem. Fix it in writing with proof (e.g., removed unauthorized occupant with a signed statement; got a pet approved or rehomed). Respond to the landlord in writing confirming what you did.
• Get a lawyer even pre-court. Right to Counsel traditionally starts once a court case is filed, but legal services providers and Met Council can still advise you at the notice stage and help you respond correctly.

• First appearances are usually procedural. The judge will confirm you have notice, check whether you have an attorney, and set a next date if you need time to get one.
• If you request a lawyer (Right to Counsel intake), the judge will usually adjourn the case 2–4 weeks to let you get represented. This is normal and expected.
• No decision is typically made at the first appearance unless you voluntarily agree to one in a stipulation. Do not agree to anything without a lawyer.

Eviction cases have more defenses than most tenants realize, and NYC has rental assistance programs that can cover arrears in nonpayment cases. Your lawyer will screen for these, but it helps to know what might apply so you can raise them yourself during intake and while gathering evidence.

• One-Shot Deal (HRA): Emergency grant through the NYC Human Resources Administration to pay back rent and prevent eviction. Income-based. Apply through ACCESS HRA or at an HRA center.
• CityFHEPS (NYC) / FHEPS (NY State): Ongoing rent subsidies for eligible households, often used to restart stalled cases. Your legal services attorney or HRA caseworker can screen you.
• SCRIE / DRIE: Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption and Disability Rent Increase Exemption — freeze rent for qualifying rent-regulated tenants.
• Public assistance / cash assistance: If you've lost income, applying may also stop or delay the case while your application is processed.

• Warranty of habitability (RPL § 235-b). If the apartment had serious unfixed conditions, your rent can be reduced or abated for the period the conditions existed. Open HPD violations are the strongest evidence (see the callout above)
• Improper or defective notice. Eviction notices must comply with strict form and service requirements. Common defects that can dismiss a case:
  • Wrong notice type for the claim (e.g., a termination notice where a cure notice was required)
  • Wrong cure period (most lease-violation cases require at least a 10-day cure period; rent demands require 14 days)
  • Wrong tenure period on a holdover termination (30-, 60-, or 90-day notice depends on how long you've occupied the unit)
  • Improper service (NY requires attempted personal delivery, then “nail-and-mail” if unsuccessful; leaving it with a doorman or sliding it under the door alone isn't enough)
  • Missing required information (lack of specific allegations, unclear amount owed, missing dates, missing signature, wrong signer)
  • Wrong parties named (wrong tenant, wrong landlord, missing necessary parties)
  • Wrong apartment address.
  Your lawyer will review every piece of paper for these. Even one defect can dismiss the case.
• Wrong amount demanded. Nonpayment cases require exact accounting. Late fees that aren't legally chargeable, uncredited payments, or bundled charges that include non-rent items can invalidate the demand.
• Rent-regulated status. If your apartment is rent-stabilized or rent-controlled, non-renewal alone is not a valid reason to evict you. Your landlord can only evict for specific grounds spelled out in the Rent Stabilization Code.

  Grounds that don't require prior DHCR approval (9 NYCRR § 2524.3):

  • Violation of a substantial lease obligation, after a proper notice to cure (§ 2524.3(a))
  • Nuisance, serious damage caused by malice or gross negligence, or persistent harassment of the owner or other occupants (§ 2524.3(b))
  • Illegal occupancy — the tenant's occupancy violates law or exposes the owner to civil/criminal penalties (§ 2524.3(c))
  • Immoral or unlawful use of the apartment (§ 2524.3(d))
  • Unreasonable refusal of access for repairs, inspections, or showings (§ 2524.3(e))
  • Refusal to sign a renewal lease offered at the legal regulated rent on the same terms (§ 2524.3(f))
  • Violation of subletting rules (§ 2524.3(h))

  Grounds that do require prior DHCR approval: using the apartment as a non-primary residence, owner or immediate-family occupancy, and demolition or substantial rehabilitation (§ 2524.4, § 2524.5).

  Nonpayment of rent is handled separately as a summary proceeding under the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law — it isn't one of the § 2524.3 grounds.

  If you're not sure whether you're regulated, ask your lawyer to check your rent history with DHCR. Many apartments are stabilized without the tenant or landlord realizing it.

• Retaliation. See the retaliation callout above.
• Discrimination. Evictions based on race, national origin, disability, source of income (including Section 8 or other subsidies), family status, gender identity, immigration status, or other protected characteristics are illegal under NYC Human Rights Law.

Most Housing Court cases end in a stipulation of settlement — a written agreement signed in court. Stipulations can be tenant-friendly (time to pay, money waived, repairs ordered) or very dangerous (agreeing to a judgment and warrant with a payment plan that defaults on the first missed payment). Never sign a stipulation without a lawyer reading it. If the landlord's attorney pressures you, tell the judge you want time to consult counsel.

Even after a judgment and warrant, you still have options — and a marshal cannot lock you out until at least 14 days after serving a written notice of eviction. Every option below is time-sensitive, so move the same day you realize the case has gone against you. Many require legal help to execute correctly.

If you didn't appear in court (default judgment), received incorrect notice, had an emergency, or new facts have come up (e.g., rental assistance approved), you can file an Order to Show Cause asking the judge to reopen the case and stop the eviction. A judge can grant a temporary stay that pauses the marshal while the motion is heard.

How to file — in person, same day:

1. Go to the Housing Courthouse in the borough where your case was filed (see the borough-by-borough addresses in Step 3 above, or look up your case on WebCivil Local)
2. Go to the Help Center. Every Housing Courthouse has a Help Center staffed by court attorneys who assist unrepresented tenants. They will walk you through filling out the OSC form and the supporting affidavit.
3. Fill out the OSC form and affidavit. The affidavit is where you explain why you're asking the court to reopen the case: default because you never got notice, medical emergency, new rental assistance approval, newly discovered evidence, etc. Be specific and attach any proof.
4. Ask for a temporary stay of the warrant in the OSC itself. Write something like: “I request a temporary stay of execution of the warrant pending the hearing on this motion.” A judge can sign this the same day.
5. File the papers with the Clerk's Office. The Help Center will direct you. There's no filing fee for tenants in nonpayment and holdover cases.
6. Serve the landlord or their attorney with a copy of the signed OSC before the hearing date. The Help Center will explain how.

What to bring:

• Photo ID.
• Every court paper you have (Notice of Petition, Petition, any prior stipulations, judgment of possession, warrant of eviction)
• The marshal's 14-day notice if you've received one.
• Proof of your reason for the OSC: medical records, a rental assistance approval letter, a bank statement showing a payment the landlord didn't credit, etc.
• A pen and your phone (for photos of your filed copies)

In most nonpayment cases, paying the full amount owed — rent plus any court-ordered additional amounts — stops the eviction, even after a warrant has been issued. Your lawyer or legal services can help you get a formal Good Cause Stipulation confirming the payment cured the case. Rental assistance (HRA One-Shot Deal, Cityfheps, faith-based funds) often covers this.

Homebase is NYC's homelessness prevention program. They provide short-term rental assistance, mediation with landlords, and emergency services to households at imminent risk of eviction. Every borough has Homebase offices. Call 311 and ask for Homebase.

• Phone: 212-979-0611
• Hours: Mon & Wed 1:30–8 PM, Fri 1:30–5 PM.
• Heads up: The hotline is very busy — call after 4 PM if you can, and avoid Mondays.

Don't wait. Same-day action is critical at this stage, and judges routinely stop or delay evictions when a tenant files an Order to Show Cause with new information, a rental assistance approval, or documented hardship.

Today, in this order:

1. Go to the Housing Courthouse in the borough your case was filed in (see the borough addresses in Step 3 above)
2. Go straight to the Help Center and say: “I have a marshal's 14-day notice and I need to file an Order to Show Cause for a stay of the warrant.” They will prioritize you.
3. Fill out the OSC with your reason (same as above: new rental assistance, payment made, default you can explain, medical or family emergency, improper service). Specifically request a temporary stay of the warrant so the marshal cannot execute while the motion is pending.
4. Call legal help on the way there or immediately after filing: Housing Court Answers (212-962-4795), Legal Services NYC, or Legal Aid. Mention the marshal's notice — it moves you up in the intake queue.
5. Call 311 for HRA Homebase to apply for emergency funds. Homebase can sometimes approve assistance the same day for imminent evictions.

Bring all the same documents listed in option A above, plus the marshal's 14-day notice itself.

If you're locked out without a marshal: that is an illegal lockout. Call 311 and NYPD (911) immediately, say those words, and contact legal help. You have a right to immediate restoration of possession.