What the envelope usually contains
New York requires a residential landlord who has not received rent shortly after it is due to send the tenant a written notice by certified mail, and a landlord's failure to send it can sometimes be raised in a later nonpayment case. Other notices, such as a rent demand or a notice ending a tenancy, may also arrive by certified mail, but those generally have to be served in other ways as well. None of these is a court order. Only a court can authorize an eviction, and the removal itself is carried out by a marshal, sheriff, or other authorized officer, after a separate notice.
Why mailing is often only part of service
For many New York eviction notices and court papers, certified mail is one piece of the required delivery rather than the whole of it. The rules usually call for some form of in-person delivery at the home, combined with mailing. Refusing or not picking up certified mail generally does not stop a case from going forward, so it is better to accept it and read it. Landlords who rely on certified mail alone may find their notice challenged, which can delay the case.
What to do with it
Keep the notice, the envelope, and the certified mail receipt, and write down the date you received each. Gather your lease, rent receipts or bank records, and any messages with the landlord about the rent or the tenancy. If court papers follow, note the court date and the deadline to answer. When you bring it to us, we read the notice to identify what kind it is and whether it was properly delivered, and we look at whether paying, negotiating, or preparing a defense is the right next step. For landlords, the same review helps confirm that notices will hold up before a case is filed.
