Westchester County Eviction Process: Notice, Petition, and Warrant

The Westchester County eviction process is a court-supervised sequence that usually takes several months, moving from a written notice, to a filed petition in the local court, to a hearing, and finally to a warrant that only a law enforcement officer can execute. New York law forbids landlords from removing tenants themselves, so every step happens under the eye of a judge, and skipping or mistiming any part of the sequence can send the case back to the beginning.

Which Court Hears the Case

Eviction cases are filed in the City, Town, or Village court that covers the property’s location. A rental in the City of White Plains goes to White Plains City Court; a rental in the Town of Greenburgh goes to Greenburgh Town Court. These local courts hear what New York law calls “summary proceedings to recover possession of real property,” a faster track than a standard civil lawsuit.¹ Filing in the wrong court is a common early mistake, and it forces the landlord to start over.

Legal Grounds a Landlord Must Have

A landlord cannot file simply because they want a tenant gone. New York’s Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law limits eviction to specific situations.² The three most common are:

Nonpayment of rent after a proper written demand.
Holdover after a lease has ended or been properly terminated.
Substantial lease violations, such as unauthorized occupants, running a business in a residential unit, or persistent disturbances affecting other residents.

Each ground triggers different notice requirements and different chances for the tenant to fix the problem. A case filed under the wrong ground, or without the required preliminary steps, will be dismissed.

The Notice That Must Come First

No eviction can be filed until the landlord has delivered the correct written notice and waited out the required time.

Nonpayment

For unpaid rent, the landlord must serve a written rent demand giving the tenant at least 14 days to pay in full or surrender the apartment.² The 14-day clock does not start until the tenant actually receives the demand.³ A verbal request for rent, however many times repeated, does not count.

Holdover

When a landlord is ending a tenancy or declining to renew a lease, the required notice depends on how long the tenant has been in the unit:⁴

Less than one year of occupancy and no lease of at least one year: 30 days.
One to two years of occupancy or a lease term of one to two years: 60 days.
More than two years of occupancy or a lease term of at least two years: 90 days.

The period is measured by whichever is longer, actual time in the unit or the lease term. A tenant six months into a two-year lease gets 90 days, not 30. These rules come from the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 and apply across Westchester County.

Filing the Petition

Once the notice period runs out, the landlord prepares two documents: a Notice of Petition, which tells the tenant when and where to appear, and a Petition, which lays out the case. The petition must identify the landlord’s interest, the tenant’s interest and how the tenancy began, the exact address and unit, the specific facts (missed payment dates and amounts, or the nature of a violation), and the relief requested.⁵ Numbers matter. A petition that claims $5,200 when the ledger shows $4,800, or a property description that doesn’t match the lease, can be dismissed on the papers. The landlord files with the clerk of the local court, pays a filing fee, and receives a hearing date and index number.

Serving the Tenant

Service in summary proceedings has its own rules under RPAPL 735. The papers must be delivered by one of three methods, in order:⁶

Personal delivery to the tenant.
Substituted service on a person of suitable age and discretion at the property, followed by mailing copies by both certified and regular mail.
Conspicuous-place service (affixing to the door or sliding under it) if no one will accept, followed by the same certified and regular mailing.

The landlord cannot serve the papers personally. Service must be done by someone at least 18 years old who is not a party to the case, and that person then signs an affidavit of service describing when, where, and how the delivery happened. The affidavit is filed with the court as proof that the tenant received notice.

What Happens at the Hearing

Both sides appear before a judge in the local court. The landlord presents the lease, a rent ledger, copies of the notices served, and any relevant correspondence. The tenant can raise defenses, offer evidence, and cross-examine witnesses.

Many nonpayment cases settle rather than go to trial. The judge often gives both sides time to work out a stipulation, a written agreement setting a payment schedule and pausing the warrant as long as the tenant pays on time. Stipulations are enforceable court orders. If the tenant misses a payment, the landlord can return to court and ask for the warrant without a fresh hearing.

In lease-violation cases, the court must grant a 30-day stay after judgment so the tenant can fix the violation before a warrant issues.⁷ If the tenant cures the problem within that window, the case ends without an eviction. Many unrepresented tenants never learn this right exists.

Defenses a Tenant Can Raise

New York law implies a warranty of habitability in every residential lease. If the landlord has failed to maintain heat, hot water, plumbing, or structural safety, or if there are serious pest infestations or hazards like mold or lead paint, a tenant can raise those conditions as a defense in a nonpayment case. A judge who finds the warranty was breached can reduce the rent owed, sometimes substantially.

Retaliation is another defense. If a landlord files within one year after a tenant made a good-faith complaint about health or safety violations, participated in a tenants’ organization, or exercised a right under the lease, the law presumes the eviction is retaliatory.⁸ The landlord then has to prove a legitimate reason unrelated to the complaint.

Active-duty servicemembers are covered by the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. A landlord cannot evict a servicemember or their dependents from a primary residence without a court order, and the court must grant a stay of at least 90 days if military service has materially affected the servicemember’s ability to pay rent.⁹ Evicting a protected servicemember without following those rules is a federal misdemeanor.

Free Legal Help for Tenants

Westchester County runs a Housing Counsel program that provides free legal representation to tenants facing eviction. You qualify if your gross household income is at or below 300 percent of the federal poverty level, or 60 percent of the county’s area median income, whichever is higher for your household size.¹⁰ For reference, a family of three earning up to roughly $91,800 per year could be eligible. Tenants can start by calling 2-1-1 or filling out an intake form online. Representation changes outcomes: represented tenants are far more likely to negotiate a favorable stipulation or successfully raise defenses.

The Warrant and the Physical Eviction

If the judge rules for the landlord and no stay applies, the court issues a warrant of eviction directed to the county sheriff, a city marshal, or a local constable, depending on the property’s location.¹¹ In Westchester County, the Department of Public Safety’s Civil Unit handles the execution of eviction warrants from local courts.¹²

The officer must give the tenant at least 14 days’ written notice before carrying out the physical eviction.¹¹ The eviction can happen only on a business day during daylight hours.¹³ Only a law enforcement officer with a valid warrant may carry out the removal.

Even after the warrant issues, options remain. The court can stay or vacate a warrant for good cause any time before it’s executed. In nonpayment cases, the court must vacate the warrant if the tenant pays or deposits the full rent due before the officer arrives, unless the landlord proves the rent was withheld in bad faith. A tenant who needs more time can file an Order to Show Cause asking a judge to stay the eviction temporarily. The Order to Show Cause has to be served on both the landlord and the sheriff or marshal to take effect.

What a Landlord Cannot Do

Some landlords try to skip the courts by changing the locks, shutting off utilities, removing a tenant’s belongings, or threatening physical harm. All of that is illegal. A tenant who has lived in a home for more than 30 days cannot be removed by anyone other than a law enforcement officer executing a valid court-ordered warrant.¹³

The financial exposure for landlords who try a self-help eviction is severe. Under RPAPL 853, a tenant forcibly or unlawfully removed can sue for treble damages, meaning three times the actual harm.¹⁴ A tenant locked out can also call the police, who can order the landlord to restore access.

A Note on Good Cause Eviction

New York’s Good Cause Eviction law limits when a landlord can refuse to renew a lease and caps certain rent increases, but outside New York City it applies only where a municipality has affirmatively opted in. As of early 2025, only Croton-on-Hudson had formally adopted Good Cause protections in Westchester, with White Plains following shortly after.¹⁵ Most other Westchester municipalities had not opted in at the time of writing, so tenants there do not have Good Cause protections. Adoption can change quickly, so check with your specific city, town, or village. Where the law does apply, a landlord’s petition must disclose whether the unit is covered and, if not, why it’s exempt.⁵ Common exemptions include owner-occupied buildings with ten or fewer units, buildings with a certificate of occupancy under 30 years old, rent-stabilized units, condominiums and cooperatives, and affordable housing units governed by a regulatory agreement.¹⁶

1
New York State Senate. Real Property Actions and Proceedings Article 7 – Summary Proceeding to Recover Possession of Real Property
2
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Code 711 – Grounds Where Landlord-Tenant Relationship Exists
3
New York State Senate. New Rights for Tenants – Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019
4
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law 226-C – Required Notices
5
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Code 741 – Contents of Petition
6
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law 735 – Service of the Notice of Petition and Petition
7
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Code 753 – Judgment
8
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law 223-B – Retaliation by Landlord Against Tenant
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3951 – Evictions and Distress
10
Westchester County Government. Westchester County Office of Housing Counsel Now Open
11
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Code 749 – Warrant
12
Westchester County Department of Public Safety. Civil Unit
13
New York Courts. Being Evicted
14
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law 853 – Action for Forcible or Unlawful Entry or Detainer, Treble Damages
15
New York Attorney General. New York State Good Cause Eviction Law
16
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law 231-C – Good Cause Eviction Law Notice