Holdover Notices

Most of the time you must give the tenant a written notice before you can start a holdover case to get rid of the tenant. If you have to give the tenant a notice, there are different ones and you must give the tenant the right one. The notice must be delivered to the tenant the right way. Visit How Legal Papers Are Delivered.

If the tenant or occupant doesn’t move out by the deadline in the notice, you can start a holdover case.

 

Notice to Cure

If the tenant has done something that is not allowed by the lease you must give the tenant a written notice called a Notice to Cure. Examples of when you use this Notice are if the tenant has a pet, or a washing machine that you did not agree to, or the tenant is too loud all the time. The Notice to Cure tells the tenant what he or she is doing wrong and gives the tenant 10 days to fix the problem. If the tenant fixes the problem, the tenant can stay and you can’t start the case. If the tenant doesn’t correct the problem by the deadline in the notice, you must give the tenant a second written notice called a Notice of Termination before you can start a case.

 

Notice of Termination

If the tenant never had a lease, or had a lease but you collected rent after it ended you must give the tenant a Notice of Termination. You do not serve a Notice to Cure. If you want to evict a tenant who did something not allowed by the lease, you must give the tenant a Notice to Cure before you can serve a Notice of Termination.

A Notice of Termination is given to a tenant to end the tenancy. The notice tells the tenant the reason, the date that the tenant must move, and that a case will be started if the tenant doesn’t move by the deadline. Give the tenant at least 30 days notice to leave. The last day in the notice must be the last day of a rental period. For example, if the tenant pays rent on the 15th of every month then the last day should be the 14th of the month.

Taking the rent after the termination date in the notice restarts the tenancy. The tenant can tell this to the court and your case may be dismissed.

 

Notice to Quit

If someone is living in the home that you didn’t rent to, you must serve a Notice to Quit. The Notice to Quit must tell the occupant that he or she has 10 days to move and must give the reason. The reason is either that the occupant has to move because he or she is a licensee or a squatter.

A licensee is someone that the tenant invited to live in the home without your permission. If the property is outside NYC, there is a free DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Form program to make a Notice to Quit for a licensee outside NYC.

A squatter is someone that started living in the home without anybody’s permission. There is a free DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Form program to make a Notice to Quit for a Squatter outside NYC.