Marshal’s notice of eviction in NYC: your options

A marshal’s notice of eviction means the court has issued a warrant and a city marshal can remove you from your home on or after the date on the notice, which must be at least 14 days after you were served. You still have options: go to Housing Court right away and ask a judge to stop the eviction with an order to show cause, and in a nonpayment case, paying all the rent owed before the eviction requires the court to cancel the warrant.

Treat this as an emergency. The steps below are in the order to take them, starting today.

What the notice means

After a landlord wins a judgment of possession (after a trial, a settlement you didn’t keep, or because you didn’t answer or show up), the court issues a warrant of eviction to a marshal or sheriff. The warrant states the earliest date the eviction may happen. Under RPAPL § 749, the marshal must then give you at least 14 days’ written notice, served the same way court papers are served, and may carry out the eviction only on a business day between sunrise and sunset.

According to the NYC Housing Court, the eviction can happen on or after the 15th day after the notice is served, between 8am and 5pm, Monday to Friday, except legal holidays. The 14 days are a minimum, so the marshal may come later. If more than 30 days pass after the earliest eviction date on the notice, or a court order pauses the eviction and the pause later ends, the marshal generally has to serve you a new 14-day notice, unless the judge specifically allows the eviction without one.

Step by step: stopping or delaying the eviction

1. 1

   Go to Housing Court as soon as possible

   Go to the courthouse in your borough with the marshal’s notice, every court paper you have, your lease and any rent receipts. The court’s own advice is that if you have a marshal’s notice, you should come to court right away.
2. 2

   Ask for a free lawyer at the same time

   A warrant of eviction is one of the situations covered by NYC’s Right to Counsel program. Call Housing Court Answers at 718-557-1379 or 212-962-4795, or 311 for the Tenant Helpline. See who qualifies.
3. 3

   Fill out an affidavit for an order to show cause

   At the clerk’s office you complete a sworn affidavit explaining why you should not be evicted. The form depends on your situation (see the table below). If you need more time to pay, say how much time and why.
4. 4

   Wait for the judge’s decision

   The clerk sends your papers and the court file to a judge. The judge may sign the order and stop the eviction until a hearing, sign it without stopping the eviction, or sign it with conditions, such as paying money or bringing proof of funds to court. Read the signed order carefully.
5. 5

   Serve the papers exactly as the order says

   If the judge signs, you must serve copies on the landlord and on the marshal following the directions in the order, then return on the hearing date, in the room listed, with proof of service.
6. 6

   If the judge refuses

   If the judge declines to sign, or signs with conditions you don’t agree with, the court says you can challenge that at the Appellate Term. Ask a lawyer or the court’s Help Center right away.

Paying to stop a nonpayment eviction

If your case is for unpaid rent, New York law is unusually clear: the court shall vacate the warrant if you pay or deposit with the court the full rent due at any time before the eviction is carried out, unless the landlord proves you withheld rent in bad faith (RPAPL § 749(3)). This only covers rent. You can’t be evicted for unpaid late fees or legal fees.

Where the money can come from:

• HRA emergency assistance, known as the One Shot Deal, for back rent.
• Homebase eviction prevention offices, which offer emergency rental assistance, help getting benefits and short-term financial help to low-income households at imminent risk of entering shelter. Call 311 to find the office for your ZIP code.
• Rental assistance programs such as CityFHEPS for eligible households at risk of eviction (see CityFHEPS).

If an application is pending, bring proof of it to court. A judge deciding whether to pause an eviction needs to see that the money is actually coming.

Other ways the court can give you time

• Good cause stay: the court can stay or vacate a warrant for good cause shown before it is carried out (RPAPL § 749(3)).
• Up to one year to move: a judge can stay an eviction for up to a year if you can’t find similar housing in your neighborhood or the eviction would cause extreme hardship, considering things like serious illness and a child enrolled in a local school. You have to pay the rent for that time into court (RPAPL § 753).
• Lease-violation cases: if the eviction is based on breaking a lease term, the court must give a 30-day stay so you can fix the breach (RPAPL § 753(4)).

If the eviction already happened

The court keeps the power to restore a tenant to possession after the warrant is carried out (RPAPL § 749(3)). Go to the courthouse and call a lawyer the same day. If you have nowhere to sleep tonight, call 311. In a full eviction, the marshal must have a licensed mover take your belongings to a licensed warehouse, make a written inventory, and tell you where your property is. If the landlord chose “legal possession” instead, your things stay in the apartment in the landlord’s care until you arrange to move them.

Timeline at a glance

For the full process from the first notice, see the NYC eviction timeline.