How your eviction case moves, step by step

You start your case with an email, and our attorney reviews it and decides whether we take it. Once we accept, the case moves through up to three stages: Notice, Court, and Possession. We take cases in every court in Albany, Schenectady, Rensselaer, and Saratoga counties.

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Starting your case

You tell us about the property
When you email us, we ask about the property and the lease, the tenants and other adult occupants, the owner, and the rent and payment history, and we tell you which documents to send, such as the lease and your rent ledger.
Before we accept your case, we send you our fees and engagement terms to review. Our pricing page also explains when you’re charged.
Telling us about a matter, or accepting our engagement terms before we accept it, does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you’re a landlord or owner asking us to represent you, we treat you as a prospective client. Even if we decline the matter, we will not use or reveal what you tell us, except as the Rules allow for a former client’s information (New York Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.18(b)).
Commercial cases are quoted after our review.
We check for conflicts, and our attorney decides
First comes a conflict check. New York requires every law firm to keep a system for checking each new engagement against its current and past ones (Rule 1.10(e)), and ours covers the tenants, other occupants, the owner, and related entities in your case.
Then our attorney reviews the case and decides whether to accept it. Nothing is accepted automatically, and we may decline any matter. When our attorney accepts your case, we begin work and confirm the acceptance to you in writing.
Until we confirm in writing that we accept your matter, you are responsible for every deadline in it, including notice periods and court dates. If we decline, we will tell you. If you still want to move forward, talk with another lawyer promptly.

Notice

The Notice stage starts with the written notice your kind of case calls for, which we prepare and have served. For example:

For unpaid rent: a 14-day rent demand, which asks the tenant to pay the rent owed or give up possession (RPAPL 711(2)).
For a tenancy you won’t renew: a non-renewal notice of at least 30, 60, or 90 days, based on how long the tenant has lived there or the lease term, whichever is longer (RPL 226-c(2)).
For a licensee or squatter, such as a guest whose permission has ended: a 10-day notice to quit (RPAPL 713).

Once the notice period has run and the matter isn’t resolved, the case moves to court.

If the property is in a Good Cause municipality, we check whether the law covers the rental and follow what it requires, as part of your case (RPL Article 6-A). To see where the law applies, read our answer on Good Cause Eviction.

Court

New York law allows eviction cases in city courts, town and village justice courts, and county courts, among others (RPAPL 701(1)), and which one hears yours depends on where the property is (RPAPL 701(2)). For a rental in the City of Saratoga Springs, for example, the case can be heard in Saratoga Springs City Court (UCCA 204).

We prepare the petition and notice of petition that start the case (RPAPL 731(1)), file them, and have them served on the tenant (RPAPL 735).

We appear for you at each court date we handle. The residential flat fee includes one court appearance; see additional costs for what applies if your case needs more.

At a court date, the case may be heard, adjourned to a later date (RPAPL 745(1)), or resolved by an agreement between you and the tenant, called a stipulation. A stipulation can set terms such as a payment schedule or a move-out date, and whether to settle is your decision (Rule 1.2(a)). If the court decides the case, it directs that a judgment be entered (RPAPL 747(1)).

Possession

If the judgment awards you possession, the court can issue a warrant of eviction. The law directs it to the county sheriff, to a constable or marshal of the city where the property is, or, outside a city, to a constable of any town in the county (RPAPL 749(1)). That officer must give the occupants at least 14 days’ written notice before carrying out the warrant, and can carry it out only on a business day, between sunrise and sunset (RPAPL 749(2)(a)).

Your choice once the warrant issues

When the warrant issues, we tell you. You then choose one of two options:

We deliver the warrant to the sheriff or marshal and coordinate the removal with that office. This optional service has its own fee (see optional warrant coordination).
We send you the warrant, and you work directly with the office that carries it out.

Either way, only the officer can carry out the warrant (RPAPL 749(1), (2)(a)). Any officer’s fee is separate from ours.

If your tenant responds in court

A contested hearing or trial

A tenant can answer the petition and raise defenses (RPAPL 743). If the answer puts facts in dispute, they are decided at a trial or contested hearing (RPAPL 745(1)), where we present your case. If the hearing needs testimony from someone who knows the facts firsthand, such as you or your property manager, we tell you who needs to testify. A trial or contested hearing is an add-on to the residential flat fee, and an additional appearance fee may also apply (see additional costs).

Counterclaims

The answer can also include counterclaims, the tenant’s own claims against you in the same case (RPAPL 743). If a tenant files counterclaims, we will quote that work separately. We send you the quote and its terms, and you can accept or decline them. If you decline, we don’t handle the counterclaims. They stay in the case, and the court can enter a money judgment against you on them (RPAPL 743), so talk with another lawyer promptly about them. See what’s not included.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to go to court myself?

We appear for you at each court date we handle. If a hearing or trial needs testimony from someone who knows the facts firsthand, such as you or your property manager, we tell you who needs to testify. The residential flat fee includes one court appearance; see additional costs for what applies if your case needs more.

What happens after I email you?

We run a conflict check, and our attorney reviews your case and decides whether to accept it. Nothing is accepted automatically. If we accept, we confirm it in writing and begin work; if we decline, we tell you. Until we confirm, the deadlines in your case, such as notice periods and court dates, are still yours to meet.

Who works with the sheriff or marshal after the warrant issues?

You choose. We can deliver the warrant to the sheriff or marshal and coordinate the removal, as an optional service with its own fee (see optional warrant coordination), or we send you the warrant and you work directly with the office that carries it out. Either way, the officer must give the occupants at least 14 days’ written notice before carrying it out (RPAPL 749(2)(a)). Any officer’s fee is separate from ours.

What if my tenant disputes the case or files counterclaims?

They’re two different things. If the tenant disputes the facts, the dispute is decided at a trial or contested hearing (RPAPL 745(1)), which is an add-on to the residential flat fee, and an additional appearance fee may also apply (see additional costs). A counterclaim, the tenant’s own claim against you in the same case (RPAPL 743), is outside the residential flat fee: we quote that work separately, and you decide whether to add it to our engagement. If you don’t, the counterclaim stays in the case, and the court can still enter a money judgment against you on it (RPAPL 743).

The legal information on this page was reviewed by Ahmad Seraj, Esq., on September 29, 2026. This page gives general information, not legal advice about your case. We represent you only after our attorney accepts your case and confirms it in writing. See our disclaimer.

The first step is yours

Email us about the property, and our attorney will tell you whether we can take your case.

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