New York City Housing Court
| Court overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | September 1, 1962 |
| Jurisdiction | New York City |
| Court executives |
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| Parent department | New York State Unified Court System |
| Key document | |
| Website | nycourts.gov/courts/nyc/civil |
The Civil Court of the City of New York is a civil court of the New York State Unified Court System in New York City that decides lawsuits involving claims for damages up to $25,000 and includes a small claims part (small claims court) for cases involving amounts up to $5,000 as well as a housing part (housing court) for landlord-tenant matters, and also handles other civil matters referred by the New York Supreme Court. It handles about 25% of all the New York state and local courts' total filings. The court has divisions by county (borough), but it is a single citywide court.
Landlords in New York City may use a blacklist of persons who have appeared in housing court as a plaintiff or defendant. Known among housing advocates and lawyers as the tenant blacklist, it is compiled by tenant-screening database companies from housing court records.
The Civil Court has monetary jurisdiction up to $25,000, including replevin when the value of the chattel does not exceed that amount, real property actions such as partitions, and foreclosures within the monetary limit, and also has equity jurisdiction limited to real property actions, ejectment actions, and actions to rescind or reform a contract not involving more than the $25,000 jurisdictional limit.
The court's divisions are by each county (borough). In each division there are a number of court parts established by the Chief Administrative Judge:
New York City Civil Court judges are elected countywide or from districts to 10-year terms, with vacancies filled by the mayor and with their service continuing until the last day of December after next election. The Legislature has consistently opted to fill judgeships using the preexisting mixed pattern of countywide and Municipal Court districts— (1) those whose seats were formerly held by City Court justices, elected on a countywide basis; (2) those whose seats were formerly held by Municipal Court justices, elected from districts located within counties; and (3) those whose seats were created by successive acts of the Legislature, elected on a countywide basis.
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