The Nassau County landlord-tenant court sits inside the Nassau County District Court at 99 Main Street, Hempstead, and hears two kinds of eviction cases: non-payment proceedings, where a landlord seeks unpaid rent and possession, and holdover proceedings, where a landlord wants a tenant out for a lease violation, illegal activity, or after the lease has ended.1New York Courts. Nassau County District Court Which category the case falls into decides the notice you must give, the papers you must file, and the defenses available to the tenant. Getting any of it wrong is the fastest route to a dismissed petition.
Where to Go and What the Court Covers
The Landlord-Tenant part operates out of 99 Main Street in Hempstead. The clerk’s office is open Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and some counter services stop before the doors close, so arrive early if you are filing papers or paying a fee.1New York Courts. Nassau County District Court
The court’s geographic reach covers the three towns of Nassau County — Hempstead, North Hempstead, and Oyster Bay — plus the cities of Long Beach and Glen Cove. If the rental unit sits in any of those municipalities, this is the correct court. Filing anywhere else gives the judge no authority to hear the case.
Non-Payment or Holdover: Which Case Is This
A non-payment case is about money the tenant owes. The landlord asks for both a judgment for the unpaid rent and possession of the unit. Before filing, the landlord has to serve a written rent demand giving the tenant at least fourteen days to pay or move out.2New York State Senate. New York Code RPA Article 7 711 – Grounds Where Landlord-Tenant Relationship Exists
A holdover case is everything else: the lease expired and the tenant will not leave, the tenant broke a lease term, or the tenant is engaged in illegal activity on the premises. Holdovers do not use a rent demand. They require a predicate notice explaining the ground for eviction, and the notice period depends on how long the tenant has lived in the unit.
Notice Requirements Before Filing
The 14-Day Rent Demand
For a non-payment case, the rent demand must state the amount owed and the period it covers, and it must give the tenant at least fourteen days. Keep a copy, and document how and when you delivered it. If you handed it to the tenant, note the date and time. If you mailed it, use certified mail and keep the receipt. The court will ask for proof of proper service, and a demand that falls even one day short can sink the case.
Termination Notice for Holdover Cases
When a landlord ends a tenancy or declines to renew, New York Real Property Law scales the required notice to the length of the tenancy:3New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law 226-C
- Less than one year of occupancy: at least 30 days’ notice.
- One to two years: at least 60 days’ notice.
- Two years or more: at least 90 days’ notice.
The same schedule applies if a landlord intends to raise the rent by 5% or more. A holdover petition filed before the required period has run will be dismissed.
Filing the Case
Before heading to the clerk’s window, pull together the lease, a rent ledger showing payments received and the running balance, a copy of the predicate notice with proof of delivery, and the names of every occupant in the unit. Missing an occupant on the petition can leave you unable to complete an eviction later.
The two documents that start the case are the Notice of Petition and the Petition.4New York State Senate. New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law RPA 731 – Commencement Notice of Petition For residential cases, the chief administrator of the New York courts has created mandatory form versions of the Notice of Petition, available through the New York State Unified Court System.5Legal Information Institute. 22 NYCRR 212.42 – Proceedings Under Article 7 of the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law The Petition must describe the property precisely, including the apartment number or floor, and must state whether the case is based on non-payment or holdover grounds.
Filing costs $45.6New York State Senate. New York Uniform District Court Act 1911 – Fees Payable to the Clerk Once the papers are accepted and the fee is paid, the clerk assigns an index number and sets a return date, which is printed on the Notice of Petition. The clerk keeps the originals and returns copies for service on the tenant.
Serving the Tenant
The landlord cannot personally hand the papers to the tenant. Service must be made by someone at least eighteen years old who is not a party to the case, so a friend, relative, or professional process server has to do it.7FindLaw. New York Consolidated Laws, Civil Practice Law and Rules – CVP Rule 2103
The papers have to reach the tenant no fewer than 10 and no more than 17 days before the court date.8New York Courts. Landlords Guide to Nonpayment Eviction Proceedings Missing that window forces the landlord to get a new court date. The law recognizes three methods, tried in order:9New York State Senate. New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law 735 – Manner of Service Filing When Service Complete
- Personal delivery, meaning handing the papers directly to the tenant.
- Substitute service, meaning leaving the papers with a person of suitable age and discretion at the property when the tenant cannot be found, then mailing copies by both certified and regular first-class mail within one day.
- Conspicuous place service, meaning affixing the papers to the door or sliding them under it when no one at the property will accept them, then mailing copies the same way within one day.
After delivery, the person who served the papers signs an Affidavit of Service describing when, where, and how it was done. The affidavit and the court papers must be filed with the clerk within three days of service.9New York State Senate. New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law 735 – Manner of Service Filing When Service Complete Without a properly filed affidavit, the court will not hear the case.
What Happens on the Court Date
The morning starts with a calendar call, when the clerk or judge runs through the day’s cases to see who is present. A landlord who fails to appear usually has the case dismissed. A tenant who fails to appear typically hands the landlord a default judgment for possession and any rent owed.
When both sides appear, the case is generally sent first to a court attorney or mediator rather than straight to a judge. The aim is a stipulation of settlement: a written agreement setting a payment schedule, a move-out date, or conditions the tenant must meet to stay. Once a judge approves it, the stipulation is binding. Read every line before signing. A landlord who agrees to a payment plan cannot restart the eviction unless the tenant actually misses a payment under the agreement.
If negotiations fail, the case goes to a hearing. The landlord presents the lease, rent ledger, and proof of the predicate notice. The tenant offers evidence and defenses. The judge either grants a judgment of possession or dismisses the case.
Defenses a Tenant Can Raise
Warranty of Habitability
New York law requires every landlord to keep rental units fit for human habitation and free of conditions dangerous to health or safety.10New York State Senate. New York Consolidated Laws, Real Property Law – RPP 235-b In a non-payment case, the tenant can raise the landlord’s failure to maintain the property as a defense and ask the judge to abate the rent. Qualifying conditions typically include no heat or hot water, pest infestations, major plumbing failures, mold, and serious structural damage. Any lease clause purporting to waive this right is void. The judge decides how much to reduce the rent based on severity and duration. The defense does not apply to conditions the tenant caused.
Retaliatory Eviction
A landlord cannot evict a tenant in retaliation for making a legitimate complaint about housing conditions to a government agency, exercising rights under the lease, or joining a tenant organization.11New York State Senate. New York Consolidated Laws, Real Property Law – RPP 223-b If the landlord files an eviction within one year of a good-faith complaint about health or safety violations, the court presumes retaliation, and the landlord must prove a legitimate reason unrelated to the complaint. A finding of retaliation results in dismissal and can leave the landlord liable for the tenant’s attorney’s fees and damages. The defense does not excuse rent that is otherwise owed.
Procedural Defects
Plenty of cases fail on technicalities. The rent demand ran a day short. The petition listed the wrong apartment number. The papers were served outside the 10-to-17-day window. The landlord filed a holdover without giving the required 30, 60, or 90 days’ notice. A tenant who compares the papers received against the statutory requirements and raises defects at the first appearance can knock the case out entirely.
Stopping an Eviction After Judgment
Paying the Rent in a Non-Payment Case
In non-payment proceedings, the tenant can stop the eviction at any time before the warrant is actually executed by paying all rent owed plus any costs the court awarded. The court retains authority to vacate the warrant for good cause before it is carried out.12New York State Senate. New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law RPA 753 – Stay in Premises Occupied for Dwelling Purposes This is where most non-payment cases actually resolve. Once the sheriff changes the locks, the option is gone.
Hardship Stay of Up to One Year
A tenant facing eviction from a dwelling can ask the court to delay it for up to a year by filing an order to show cause. The court will grant the stay if the tenant shows that no similar housing is available in the same town, village, or city (or school district, if the tenant has school-age children), or that removal would cause extreme hardship.12New York State Senate. New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law RPA 753 – Stay in Premises Occupied for Dwelling Purposes Serious illness and the impact of a school change on children are among the factors the court weighs, along with any hardship a delay would impose on the landlord. During the stay, the tenant must continue paying rent at the previous rate plus any additional amount the court sets.
The request is made by filing an order to show cause with the court and serving it on the landlord.13New York Courts. Being Evicted It is a written application; the court will not take the request by phone.14New York Courts. How to Ask the Court for Something (Motions and Orders to Show Cause) Filing before the sheriff serves the 14-day notice gives the tenant a much better chance than a last-minute application.
Warrant of Eviction and the Sheriff
When a judge rules for the landlord, the court enters a judgment of possession and, in non-payment cases, a money judgment for the rent. The landlord then requests a warrant of eviction from the clerk. The warrant authorizes physical removal, and in Nassau County it is forwarded to the Nassau County Sheriff’s Department for execution.
Before removal, the tenant must be served with a 14-day notice of eviction.13New York Courts. Being Evicted Those two weeks are the tenant’s final window to move, pay off the judgment in a non-payment case, or file an emergency application. After the 14 days, the sheriff returns to change the locks. The landlord pays the sheriff’s fee, which is $90 per writ and includes the first hour of service; additional time is $35 per hour.15Nassau County Sheriff’s Office. Civil Process Service Procedures and Fees Only the sheriff can carry out the eviction. A landlord who changes locks, removes belongings, or shuts off utilities without going through this process is committing an illegal lockout.
Rent-Stabilized Units and Good Cause
Some Nassau County municipalities have adopted the Emergency Tenant Protection Act, meaning certain apartments in those areas are rent-stabilized. Rent stabilization generally applies to units in buildings of six or more apartments built before January 1, 1974, in localities that have declared a housing emergency. Communities that have adopted these protections include Glen Cove, Long Beach, Hempstead Village, Freeport, Great Neck, Great Neck Plaza, Floral Park, Lynbrook, Mineola, Rockville Centre, North Hempstead, and several other villages.
In a rent-stabilized unit, landlords generally cannot refuse to renew a lease without specific state-approved grounds, and rent increases are set by the Nassau County Rent Guidelines Board rather than by the landlord. If your building may be covered, confirm the unit’s status with the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal before agreeing to any settlement, because the protections can change the outcome of the case.
New York’s Good Cause Eviction law took effect in April 2024, but it applies only to New York City and municipalities that opt in. As of early 2025, no Nassau County locality had opted in, so the law is not currently a factor in cases at this court.16Office of the New York State Attorney General. New York State Good Cause Eviction Law That could change, and the Attorney General’s website maintains a current list.
Where to Get Help
Nassau Suffolk Law Services provides free legal help in civil matters to low-income Long Island residents, including tenants facing eviction. Its Nassau Civil Unit focuses on tenants in federally subsidized or rent-stabilized housing. The office is at 1 Helen Keller Way, 5th Floor, Hempstead, NY 11550, at (516) 292-8100.
The Nassau County Bar Association runs a Lawyer Referral Information Service at (516) 747-4070 and through its website. For a straightforward eviction case, flat fees generally run from roughly $500 to several thousand dollars depending on complexity, with contested trials costing considerably more than cases resolved through stipulation.