How to Fill Out and File the NYC Holdover Petition (UCS-LTH2)

To fill out and file the NYC holdover petition on Form UCS-LTH2, you first serve the correct predicate notice on the tenant, then complete the petition and its attached Good Cause Eviction notice, sign the verification before a notary, and file the package with the Housing Court clerk in the borough where the property is located. The filing fee is $45, and the clerk assigns your index number and first court date when you file. A non-party adult, usually a licensed process server, then serves the tenant within a strict window before that court date.

The form is issued by the New York State Unified Court System for use in the five boroughs’ Housing Courts. You use it when a tenant’s right to occupy has ended and you want a judgment for possession, plus a warrant of eviction if the tenant does not leave on their own. The current version is dated 03/2025 and includes a multi-page Good Cause Eviction notice that must accompany the petition. Many landlords miss that attachment.

Serve the Predicate Notice First

You cannot file a holdover petition until you have served a predicate notice and its notice period has run out. The type of notice depends on the reason for eviction, and getting this step wrong is probably the most common reason holdover cases are dismissed at the first appearance.

Notice to Cure (at least 10 days): for a tenant violating a specific lease term you want fixed, such as an unauthorized pet or running a business from the unit. The notice must describe the violation and give at least 10 days to correct it. If the tenant does not cure by the deadline, you then serve a Notice of Termination.
Notice to Quit (at least 10 days): for licensees (someone you allowed to stay who has no lease) or squatters. It must state the reason for eviction and give at least 10 days before the holdover case can begin.
30-, 60-, or 90-Day Notice of Termination: to end a month-to-month tenancy or terminate a non-rent-stabilized lease for a violation. The required length depends on how long the tenant has lived in the unit, and for a month-to-month tenancy the termination date must fall on the last day of a rental period. You cannot file the petition until after that date passes.

Every predicate notice must be served using a method allowed under the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law. Keep a copy of the notice and your proof of how and when it was delivered. You will need both when you fill out the petition and again in court.

What to Gather Before You Start the Form

Full names of every tenant, undertenant, subtenant, assignee, and other occupant. The form has numbered lines for up to ten.
Complete premises address: street, apartment or unit number, borough, and zip code. RPAPL § 741 requires you to describe the premises from which you seek removal, and vagueness here can be grounds for dismissal.¹
The lease or most recent renewal, or notes on an oral agreement (rent amount, due date, term start and end).
A copy of the predicate notice you served and proof of how and when it was delivered. The dates and reasons in your petition must match the notice exactly.
The monthly rent and its due date. If you are seeking a money judgment for use and occupancy after the lease ended, know the dollar amount owed.

If your building has three or more residential units, you are required to register annually with the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development.² The form has no dedicated field for the registration number, but a judge may ask about it, and failure to register can be raised as a defense.

Filling Out Page 1

Page 1 carries the substantive content. Start with the caption: fill in the county (New York for Manhattan, Kings for Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, or Richmond for Staten Island) and the names of the landlord/petitioner and tenant/respondent. Leave the index number blank. The clerk assigns it at filing.

Below the caption, list every person in possession of the apartment: named tenants, subtenants, and any occupants whose names you do not know (list them as “John Doe” or “Jane Doe”). Leaving someone out can complicate enforcement of a warrant later.

The next section asks for the monthly rent, the rent due date, and the date the lease or rental agreement ended. You then indicate the type and length of the written demand to vacate that was served. The form has checkboxes for 30-, 60-, or 90-day notices.³ The length you check must match the predicate notice you actually served.

The grounds for holdover must align with one of the categories in RPAPL § 711. The most common ground is that the tenant remains in possession after the lease expired without your permission.⁴ Other grounds include use of the premises for illegal purposes or, in New York City, tampering with smoke or fire detectors after a prior court order to stop.

The judgment section at the bottom of page 1 is where you tell the court what you want. The form lets you request four things: return of possession, a warrant of eviction, a money judgment for rent owed after the lease ended (fill in the amount), and court costs.³ Check each box that applies and fill in the dollar figure for any monetary claim. If your lease has an attorney’s fees clause, you can request those separately at trial.

The Good Cause Eviction Notice (Pages 3–8)

The 03/2025 version of UCS-LTH2 includes a multi-page attachment titled “Notice to Tenant of Applicability or Inapplicability of the New York State Good Cause Eviction Law.” It is not optional. Since August 18, 2024, landlords filing an eviction case must attach a notice stating whether the unit is covered by the Good Cause Eviction law and, if it is, what good cause reason justifies the eviction.⁵

Fill in the unit address at the top of the notice. Then check whether Article 6-A of the Real Property Law applies to the unit. If the unit is exempt, check the specific exemption. The form lists options A through N, covering situations like owner-occupied buildings with fewer than ten units, rent-stabilized apartments (which have their own protections), and units in certain subsidized programs.³

If the unit is covered by Good Cause, you must check the specific good cause reason from another list of options A through N. Skipping this section or checking the wrong box gives the tenant an easy basis to challenge the petition. Read each exemption and each cause carefully. Cases get thrown out on paperwork alone here.

Verification and Notarization on Page 2

Page 2 is the verification: a sworn statement that you are the petitioner, that you have read the petition, and that everything in it is true to the best of your knowledge. Sign and print your name in the spaces provided.³

Your signature must be sworn before a notary public. The form includes a notary block with space for signature, date, and stamp or seal. Do not sign the verification before you are in front of the notary. They need to witness the signature and confirm your identity. A petition without proper notarization will be rejected by the clerk’s office or challenged at the first court appearance.

Where and How to File

Bring the notarized petition, the Notice of Petition (a separate form that tells the tenant when to appear), and the Good Cause Eviction notice to the Housing Court clerk’s office in the borough where the property is located:

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

⁶

The filing fee is $45. When you pay, the clerk assigns an index number and stamps your documents with the date and time of the first appearance. You will need multiple copies of the petition and Notice of Petition, originals for the court and copies for service. Bring extras, or confirm copy availability with the clerk’s office beforehand.

Serving the Papers

You cannot serve the papers yourself. New York’s Civil Practice Law and Rules limit service to any person who is not a party to the case and is at least eighteen years old.⁷ Most landlords hire a licensed process server, though any qualifying adult can do it.

Timing is strict. The Notice of Petition and Petition must be served at least ten days and no more than seventeen days before the scheduled court date.⁸ Serve too early or too late and the case cannot proceed on that date.

RPAPL § 735 sets three methods, and the server must attempt them in order:⁹

Personal delivery: hand the papers directly to the tenant. Simplest and strongest.
Substituted service: if the tenant is not available, deliver to a person of suitable age and discretion who lives or works at the property. Within one day, mail copies to the tenant by both certified or registered mail and regular first-class mail.
Conspicuous-place service: if no one at the property will accept the papers, affix a copy to a visible part of the property or slide it under the entrance door. Within one day, mail copies by both certified or registered mail and regular first-class mail.

Filing the Affidavit of Service

After service, the person who delivered the papers fills out an Affidavit of Service describing how, when, and where the tenant was served. That affidavit, along with the Notice of Petition and Petition, must be filed with the court clerk within three days of service.¹⁰ For personal delivery, service is complete immediately and the three-day clock starts that day. For substituted or conspicuous-place service, service is complete when the mailing is done and the clock runs from that date.⁹

Missing the three-day window is a jurisdictional defect. If the affidavit is not filed on time, the court cannot hear the case and the petition may be dismissed. You would have to start over with new papers and a new filing fee.

Military Status Affidavit for a Default

If the tenant does not appear and you ask for a default judgment, federal law requires an affidavit stating whether the tenant is in active military service. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, no court can enter a default without it. You must state either that the tenant is not in military service (with facts supporting that conclusion) or that you are unable to determine the tenant’s military status.¹¹

If the tenant turns out to be on active duty, the court must appoint counsel and may stay the proceeding for at least 90 days if the servicemember shows that military duties prevent them from appearing.¹² You can verify military status for free through the Department of Defense Manpower Data Center’s website before the court date.

What Happens After Filing

Your first court appearance is in the Resolution Part, which is designed to encourage settlement before trial.¹³ Several things can happen there:

Stipulation of settlement: you and the tenant reach an agreement, often a move-out date in exchange for dropping the money claim, or a conditional agreement where the tenant corrects a lease violation. A stipulation is entered as a court order and is enforceable.
Adjournment: the judge postpones the case to allow inspection, legal representation, or negotiation.
Trial: if no agreement is reached, the case is transferred to a trial part where a judge hears evidence and decides.
Default judgment: if the tenant does not appear and you have met all procedural requirements (including the military status affidavit), the court may enter judgment in your favor.

If the judge rules in your favor and the violation is curable, the court typically gives the tenant about ten days to fix the problem. If they do, the case ends and they stay. If not, or if the violation was incurable, the judge can order the tenant to move out and may grant a stay of up to six months, during which the tenant pays use and occupancy at the previous rent rate. When the stay expires, you can obtain a warrant of eviction and have a City Marshal serve a notice of eviction.

1
New York State Senate. Real Property Actions and Proceedings Code 741 – Contents of Petition
2
Housing Preservation & Development. Register Your Property
3
New York State Unified Court System. Eviction Petition – Holdover UCS-LTH2
4
New York State Senate. Real Property Actions and Proceedings Code 711 – Grounds for Removal of Tenants
5
Housing Preservation & Development. Good Cause Eviction
6
NYC311. Housing Court for Tenants and Landlords
7
FindLaw. New York Code CPLR – Rule 2103, Service of Papers
8
New York State Senate. Real Property Actions and Proceedings Code 733 – Time of Service
9
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law 735 – Manner of Service, Filing, When Service Complete
10
New York Courts. Filing an Affidavit of Service – Section: Time Limits in Landlord-Tenant Cases
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3931 – Protection of Servicemembers Against Default Judgments
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3932 – Stay of Proceedings When Servicemember Has Notice
13
New York Courts. Starting a Holdover Case