Holdover eviction lawyer for Capital Region landlords

In New York, a holdover eviction is a court case a landlord can bring when a tenant stays after the lease ends without the landlord’s permission (RPAPL 711(1)). For a home, a landlord who isn’t renewing gives written notice of at least 30, 60, or 90 days first (RPL 226-c(1)(a), (2)). We represent Capital Region landlords in these cases in every court in Albany, Schenectady, Rensselaer, and Saratoga counties.

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What a holdover eviction is

A holdover case rests on the end of the tenant’s term, not on unpaid rent: the tenant stays in any part of the home after the term expires, without the landlord’s permission (RPAPL 711(1), (2)).

Even when a lease has ended, the only way to remove a tenant is a court case called a special proceeding (RPAPL 711). Without a warrant or other court order, it’s unlawful to try to remove a tenant by force or threats or by any other conduct meant to make them leave or keep them out, including cutting off essential services, removing their belongings, and changing the lock without giving them a key (RPAPL 768(1)(a)).

Some situations look like a holdover but need a different kind of case:

If the problem is unpaid rent, it’s a nonpayment case, which needs a written rent demand first (RPAPL 711(2)).
If the person staying was never a tenant, such as a houseguest whose permission has ended, or a squatter, the case is a licensee or squatter proceeding under a different statute (RPAPL 713(3), (7)).

This page is about homes and apartments, and about tenancies that end by expiration or a decision not to renew. A tenancy ended for a lease violation can call for different notices, set by the lease and, in a rental covered by Good Cause Eviction, by the Good Cause law (RPL 216(1)(b)). We quote a commercial holdover separately, after we’ve reviewed the case (see commercial evictions).

The notice in a holdover case

A holdover case follows the end of a tenancy. For a home, a landlord who doesn’t intend to renew, or who offers a renewal at 5 percent or more above the current rent, first gives the tenant a written notice of at least 30, 60, or 90 days, based on the tenant’s total time in the home or the length of the tenancy in each lease, whichever is longer (RPL 226-c(1)(a), (2)). That includes a month-to-month tenancy: outside New York City, the one-month notice in RPL 232-b isn’t available to a residential landlord (RPL 232-b).

If the non-renewal notice isn’t timely, the tenancy continues on its existing terms until the notice period has expired (RPL 226-c(1)(a)), and the notice has to append or contain the Good Cause notice, wherever the rental is (RPL 226-c(1)(a); RPL 231-c(1)). After the term and the notice period have ended, a tenant who stays without the landlord’s permission is holding over, and a holdover case can be brought (RPAPL 711(1)). We draft the notice and arrange its service.

The non-renewal notice section of our notices page covers the three periods, the month-to-month rule, and what the notice has to say. In a rental Good Cause Eviction covers, the case depends on the notice meeting the law’s requirements for service, timing, and contents (RPL 217).

If Good Cause Eviction applies

Where the law applies

Outside New York City, the law applies only in a city, town, or village that adopts it by local law (RPL 213(1)).

As of September 29, 2026, the municipalities in Albany, Schenectady, Rensselaer, and Saratoga counties that have opted in are the City of Albany and the City of Troy.

DHCR, the state’s housing agency, publishes a list of opted-in municipalities, current as of May 4, 2026, which doesn’t yet show Troy, and a new local law can take effect before the list shows it (RPL 213(5), (6)). Our Good Cause Eviction answer says more.

When a lease ends

An expired lease, or no written lease, doesn’t by itself let a landlord remove a tenant from a covered rental. The landlord has to establish in court one of the grounds the law lists (RPL 215, 216(1)).

The grounds include a substantial lease violation left uncured after written notice, the landlord’s good-faith personal use of the unit as a principal residence (within limits the statute sets), and a tenant’s refusal of reasonable lease changes offered in writing 30 to 90 days before the lease ends (RPL 216(1)(b), (g), (j)).

Which rentals are exempt

The law lists 15 kinds of exempt rentals, among them a small landlord’s, an owner-occupied building with no more than ten units, and, for 30 years, a building whose certificate of occupancy was issued on or after January 1, 2009 (RPL 214(1), (2), (8)).

A city, town, or village can change the high-rent exemption threshold and the small-landlord limit when it opts in; the state defaults are 245 percent of fair market rent and, for a small landlord, ten units (RPL 213(2), 214(15)). The City of Albany and the City of Troy each exempt units renting above 345 percent of fair market rent and define a small landlord as one with no more than one unit anywhere in New York State (Albany City Code § 231-139(B), (C); Troy City Code §§ 46-3, 46-4).

For property 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).

Good Cause Eviction compliance covers the law in more detail.

Filing a holdover case

A holdover proceeding starts with a petition and a notice of petition, and only an attorney, a judge, or the court clerk can issue the notice of petition (RPAPL 731(1)). Both are served on the tenant at least 10 and no more than 17 days before the date the petition is noticed to be heard (RPAPL 733(1)), in the manner RPAPL 735 sets.

Which court hears the case

The case is tried within the jurisdictional area of the court where the property, or part of it, is situated (RPAPL 701(2)). City courts, such as Cohoes City Court and Saratoga Springs City Court, have jurisdiction over these cases for property in their cities (UCCA 204). Outside the cities, a town or village justice court has jurisdiction if the property is within its area (RPAPL 701(1), (2)).

What the petition includes

The petition sets out the facts behind the case and the relief sought (RPAPL 741(4), (5)). The Good Cause notice from RPL 231-c goes with it too (RPAPL 741(5-a)), along with the owner information the law requires from a landlord who claims the small-landlord exemption (RPAPL 741(5-b)).

State law adds an allegation for two cities. For property in the City of Albany or the City of Schenectady where a local law conditions legal rental on registration, the petition has to allege proof of compliance (RPAPL 741(6), (9)). The rules of practice in Albany City Court add a document to submit: a copy of the most recently issued residential occupancy permit for the unit (Albany City Code § 30-323).

If the tenant contests the case

When the petition is to be heard, the tenant, or anyone in possession or claiming possession, can answer orally or in writing, and the answer can raise any legal or equitable defense, or a counterclaim (RPAPL 743). In a holdover case, the questions can include whether the notice was timely and complete (RPL 226-c(1)(a)), whether rent accepted after the term created a month-to-month tenancy (RPL 232-c), and, for a covered rental, whether the landlord has established a ground the law allows (RPL 216(1)).

A tenant can also claim retaliation. The law bars a landlord from starting a case, or from refusing to renew a lease, in retaliation for a tenant’s good-faith complaint about a health or safety violation or needed repairs, among other protected acts (RPL 223-b(1), (2)). It creates a rebuttable presumption of retaliation if the landlord acts within one year after such a complaint (RPL 223-b(5)), and it doesn’t apply to an owner-occupied dwelling with fewer than four units (RPL 223-b(6)).

Our attorney’s review of your case, the court dates, and what follows are laid out in how it works. For how a contested hearing or a counterclaim affects our fees, see additional costs and what’s not included.

Fees for a holdover case

A residential holdover case is a flat-fee case. Our pricing page explains:

Rent accepted after the lease ends

Before a case is filed, accepting rent can change the tenancy. If a tenant whose term was longer than one month stays on, and the landlord accepts rent for any period after the term, then unless an agreement, express or implied, provides otherwise, the tenancy becomes month to month, starting the day after the term expired (RPL 232-c). The tenant’s staying on doesn’t, by itself, let the landlord hold the tenant to a new term (RPL 232-c). Ending that month-to-month tenancy then takes a written notice of its own (RPL 226-c(1)(a), (2)).

After a holdover case has started, accepting rent doesn’t end the case or affect any award of possession (RPAPL 711(1)).

What a holdover judgment can include

Possession and the warrant

After a final judgment for the landlord, the court issues a warrant, directed to the sheriff or to a constable or marshal, commanding the officer to remove the persons named in the proceeding (RPAPL 749(1)). The court keeps the power to stay or vacate the warrant for good cause until it is carried out (RPAPL 749(3)).

A tenant who lives in the home can also ask the court to stay issuance of the warrant for up to one year, on grounds the statute lists, and the court weighs any substantial hardship a stay would impose on the landlord (RPAPL 753(1)).

Who carries out the warrant, the officer’s notice to the occupants, and your choice if a warrant issues are in how a case moves. Coordinating with the sheriff or marshal for you is optional warrant coordination.

Use and occupancy

A judgment for the landlord can include the fair value of use and occupancy, meaning the value of the tenant’s use of the home for a period when no rent is due, if the notice of petition said that this demand had been made (RPAPL 741(5), 747(4)). Collecting on a judgment is a separate step, and it isn’t included in the flat fee (see what’s not included).

Frequently asked questions

My tenant’s lease ended and they’re still there. What comes first?

Written notice, if it hasn’t been given. A landlord who isn’t renewing has to give at least 30, 60, or 90 days’ written notice, and if it’s late, the tenancy continues on its existing terms until the notice period has expired (RPL 226-c(1)(a), (2)). After that, if the tenant stays without the landlord’s permission, a holdover case can be filed (RPAPL 711(1)). Where Good Cause Eviction covers the rental, the notice also has to state a lawful basis for not renewing, and the landlord has to establish one of the grounds the law lists (RPL 215, 216(1); RPL 226-c(1)(a)). Removal happens only through a court case, never by force, a lockout, removing belongings, cutting off essential services, or any other conduct meant to make the tenant leave (RPAPL 711, 768(1)(a)).

How much notice do I have to give a tenant I’m not renewing?

At least 30, 60, or 90 days’ written notice, set by the longer of the tenant’s time in the home and the length of the tenancy in each lease (RPL 226-c(1)(a), (2)). It has to include the Good Cause notice from RPL 231-c, and a late notice lets the tenancy continue under its existing terms until the notice period has expired (RPL 226-c(1)(a)).

Can I end a month-to-month tenancy with one month’s notice?

For a home outside New York City, a landlord’s notice is the 30, 60, or 90-day notice, not a one-month notice: RPL 232-b gives the landlord a one-month notice only for a tenancy that isn’t residential (RPL 232-b; RPL 226-c(1)(a), (2)). Where Good Cause Eviction covers the rental, the landlord also needs one of the grounds the law lists (RPL 215, 216(1)).

Does accepting rent after the lease ends affect a holdover case?

It can, and the timing matters. Before a case is filed, accepting rent for a period after a term longer than one month makes the tenancy month to month, unless an agreement, express or implied, provides otherwise (RPL 232-c). After a holdover case has begun, accepting rent doesn’t end the case or affect an award of possession (RPAPL 711(1)).

Can I decline to renew a lease in Albany or Troy?

Where Good Cause Eviction covers the rental, a landlord can’t remove a tenant by not renewing the lease unless the landlord establishes in court one of the grounds the law lists (RPL 215, 216(1)). As of September 29, 2026, the municipalities in Albany, Schenectady, Rensselaer, and Saratoga counties that have opted in are the City of Albany and the City of Troy. Some rentals are exempt, such as a small landlord’s, which the City of Albany and the City of Troy each define as a landlord of no more than one unit anywhere in New York State (RPL 213(2), 214(1); Albany City Code § 231-139(C); Troy City Code § 46-4). See If Good Cause Eviction applies.

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.

Tell us about the lease

Send us an email with the property’s address, the owner’s name, and the names of the tenants and any other adult occupants, and have your lease and any notice you’ve given ready. For a rental in the City of Albany, have its current Residential Occupancy Permit or Certificate of Occupancy ready too. If our attorney accepts your case, we prepare the notice or petition that comes next.

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