Evicting a Month-to-Month Tenant in New York

[Akshay Vig]

Hi All,

I own a Triplex in Buffalo, NY, and could use a bit of guidance on what to do regarding evicting one of my tenants.

I had a couple with 2 kids a sign a 1-year lease in June 2019. For the duration of the lease, I would say they were average tenants. Paid their rent late a few times, and we received a noise complaint from adjacent tenants once or twice, but nothing too critical other than that. About 2-3 months before the expiration of the lease, they informed us that they were having marital issues and after many unsuccessful attempts, would be moving out at the end of the 1-year term. This was the plan until Covid hit. Due to the nature of the rental market during the pandemic and difficulties in regards to finding a new apartment, they asked if they could stay on a month-to-month basis until they were able to move elsewhere. With unemployment soaring and the moratorium, my property manager and I had no choice but to let them stay.

In the past 2 months, a few issues came up with the building. However, the only tenants making a fuss were these ones.They started to complain about their bathroom ceiling leaking, the faucet not working properly, etc. In addition, some minor electrical work needed to be done in one of the common areas, and one of the hot water tanks needed to be replaced. They flat out refused to pay their rent until we started addressing the issues they were having. And so we started to get work done where needed. We issued a 14 day eviction notice, asking them to pay their rent or vacate the unit. We received a partial payment for the 1st month they were delinquent. But that's all. They claimed they would make the rest as we addressed more issues they were facing, citing ridiculous excuses such as the water in the bathroom being too hot, strange odors, etc. As of now, they still owe a month and a half worth of rent + late fees. We issued them a second 14-day notice yesterday, and today they once again refused to pay the remainder of their rent owing. 

My property manager has suggested getting an attorney involved, which will set me back $550. On top of all the other repairs/things that have needed fixing + missing rental income, I am trying to avoid getting going this route as I simply will not have enough to cover my mortgage.

To anyone that's had to go through the eviction process in New York, what would you suggest? Also, how long did it take from the eviction filing to court date and getting the tenants out? This will be my first eviction, so any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance