My question involves an eviction in the state of: New York
Hello, I’m renting out a house and the tenant hasn’t paid the rent for 3 months. He doesn’t answer the phone, and I live far away from the house I’m renting out so it’s very difficult for me to go there and check up on what he’s doing. In anycase, this person doesn’t seem to be very trustworthy, and I want to take legal actions to evict him.
I never took legal action against anyone before I’m really new at this and need some newbie advice. I’m wondering, can I file a claim and summon him to small claims court? I have copies of the tenants rent application, rent deposit form (signed), driver’s liscense and some other documentation such as pictures of his pets etc. The only problem is that to this day, he still has not signed the lease contract, I only have a copy of the lease contract with my signature and date. I’ve never been involved in any legal conflicts so I’m totally ignorant as to what I should to or the steps I should take to take this individual to court, so I have to ask some stupid questions:
1. Do I even have a case legally without a signed lease contract from the tenant?
2. How do I file a small claims court case?
3. Are eviction cases handled in small claims or superior courts in NY?
4. If eviction cases are only handled in superior courts, do I need a lawyer, and in this case what about my 3 months rent money?
5. My house for rent is located in Long Island NY, how do I locate a small claims court near by me?
6. What is the legal limit for SCC cases (I’ll be sueing for 3 months rent which amounts to 4800 dollars).
7. Any other suggestions and or information that I should know but missed.
Thank you so much for reading my question. Any answer or help would be greatly appreciated. If anyone has personal experience with rent/tenant conflicts, please email me at wongb18c@gmail.com.