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This page has been updated because of the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019.


Answering a Housing Court Case in NYC as a Tenant

Do not ignore the court papers. If a landlord serves a tenant with court papers (also called a petition and a notice of petition), the tenant has the right to give a response by filing a paper called an Answer. The answer is the legal reason (or defenses) why the landlord should not win the case.

If the tenant does not file an answer they may be evicted and have a money judgment entered against them.

 

Defenses

There are different legal reasons (defenses) that a tenant can use against a landlord’s petition. The tenant should only use defenses they can prove in Court. Tenants may have more than one defense depending on the facts of each case. Below are examples of defenses in a landlord-tenant case. Read the explanations carefully to see if any of them apply to you. Everyone’s case is different. Some defenses may apply and most may not. A tenant can use a defense not listed below. If the tenant does not choose a defense in the Answer, they might not have a chance to talk about it later in the case.

  1. Bad service/Improper service: It is a defense if the landlord did not have the required written notices (notice to quit, notice of termination or rent demand) or the Notice of Petition and Petition delivered, to the tenant, the right way. This is called bad service of papers. See How Legal Papers are Delivered and Common Examples of Bad Service. Tell the Clerk or Judge if the tenant is in the military or dependent on someone in the military. Sometimes, if the tenant can’t pay the rent because they or someone they depend on is on active duty, the case may be delayed for 90 days.
  2. Payment: if the tenant has paid all or part of the rent. If tenant pays the landlord the full rent due before the court date, the landlord must take the rent and the case is over.
  3. Warranty of Habitability: The landlord failed to make repairs or provide needed services (heat, water, gas) after receiving notification.
  4. Rent Overcharge: Monthly rent being requested is not the legal rent or the amount on the current lease. The landlord can only ask for the correct rent in the Court Papers (Petition). This defense can be used if the landlord has charged a tenant more than the legal rent (for example, more than the rent controlled or rent stabilized rent), or more than your lease says.
  5. The landlord refused to take the rent: Refusals by landlords include taking the check or money order but not cashing it, avoiding the tenant so they can't pay, and refusing to accept the money.
  6. Laches: The landlord waited too long to bring the case. Use this defense if the landlord knows the tenant owes rent but waits a long time to start the case.
  7. The landlord is retaliating against the tenant (who does not live in an owner-occupied building with less than four units or live in a manufactured home). Use this defense if after making a complaint about the conditions of the apartment/building, by trying to enforce rights as a tenant or by participating in a tenant’s association- the landlord files a case. If this defense is used in a nonpayment case, the tenant still has to pay the rent.

 

Claims or Counterclaims Against the Landlord

A tenant may add counterclaims to their Answer. A counterclaim is a claim the tenant may have against the landlord connected to the reason the landlord is trying to evict the tenant. In a counterclaim, the tenant is asking the landlord for money or to make repairs.

Defenses, like lack of repairs and rent overcharge, can also be counterclaims.

Money for repairs the tenant made can be a counterclaim, if the tenant told the landlord about necessary repairs and the landlord refused to fix them.

For more possible defenses read Information on Answering a Notice of Petition and Petition for Nonpayment of Rent.

 

What Legal Resources are Available to Tenants?

  • Think about contacting a lawyer to represent you before the first court date,
  • Can’t afford a lawyer? Call 718-557-1379 or visit www.nycourts.gov/evictions/nyc/ to see if you qualify for free legal representation.
  • If you are a member of a labor union, call the union to see if they can provide a lawyer.
  • If you do not want a lawyer, you can receive legal information from the court’s free Help Center.

 

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