It is difficult to find property to rent in New York. Prices are high, availability is low and the entire home-search process can be stressful. It’s not easy to find a place to live in the city, and for this reason, it can come as a shock when your landlord tries to evict you from your rented home.

You may find it useful to know about your rights in case you ever face what you believe is a wrongful eviction effort. There are only certain circumstances in which a landlord can evict you from your home, and you may have grounds to fight back against these efforts.

Legal grounds for eviction

If your landlord wants to evict you from your premises, there must be grounds to do so. First of all, he or she must provide you with ample notice of the eviction. There are actually three different types of eviction notices, and they are as follows:

• The Pay Rent or Quit notice can come if the tenant is behind on his or her rent. This notice allows the tenant a certain number of days to catch up or vacate the premises.
• The Cure or Quit notice can come if your landlord believes that you violated one or multiple terms of your lease agreement. This allows you time to correct the issue or leave your home.
• The Unconditional Quit notice is when a landlord wants to evict you without giving you any time to correct the problems. This essentially eliminates your ability to rectify any problems and stay in your home.

There must be valid, legal grounds in order for a landlord to evict you from your home. Especially when giving an Unconditional Quit notice, there must be clear, indisputable evidence to do so. If you believe you are the victim of unlawful or wrongful eviction notices, you have the right to fight back.

Your right to protect yourself

You may find that it is necessary to fight back against an eviction effort. Whether you think your landlord is simply wrong about the reasons for eviction or could possibly be motivated by discrimination or other illegal factors, you do not have to take it.

It could be beneficial to seek a full evaluation of your case and an explanation of the legal options available to you. As a tenant, you are entitled to certain protections, and that includes the right to fight back against wrongful eviction efforts.