Are Eviction Notices And Filings Public Record In New York?

Eviction notices sent before a court case - such as a 14‑day pay‑or‑quit notice - are private communications and do not automatically become public records; they enter the public domain only when a landlord files a petition, summons, or complaint in Housing Court (NYC) or Civil Court (the rest of NY) and attaches the notice to that filing.

Once attached, the notice appears on the docket and can be accessed through the NY eCourts public docket or at the county clerk's office. Sealing these filings is limited to rare cases involving fraud, identity theft, or other extraordinary circumstances.

You can view NY eviction records online through the state's eCourts civil docket and, for NYC cases, the Housing Court portal.

1. Visit the NY eCourts civil docket search.
2. Choose 'Civil' as the court type, then filter 'Case Type' to 'Housing'.
3. Enter the tenant's name, address, or docket number and click 'Search'.
4. For New York City filings, go to the NYC Housing Court docket access page and repeat the same search steps.
5. Review the case summary; click 'View PDF' to download the full eviction notice or filing.
6. If a record does not appear online, contact the county clerk's office or submit a formal public records request for a hard copy.

A New York eviction filing publicly shows who is suing, where the rental unit is, why the landlord is seeking removal, and what money the landlord claims is owed. Additional details appear only after the court issues a judgment.

• Landlord's and tenant's full legal names
• Address of the rental premises listed in the petition (the unit at issue)
• Stated legal reason for eviction (e.g., non‑payment, holdover, illegal use)
• Amount the landlord is requesting (rent arrears, fees, or other charges)
• Docket number, filing date, and court location
• Post‑judgment entries such as awarded damages, settlement terms, or attorney information (added only after a decision)

These items form the core of every public eviction record you'll encounter in NY, setting the stage for the permanence discussion in the next section.

Eviction notices become part of a civil case docket, and New York's public‑records statutes require courts to retain every docket entry indefinitely.

Once a landlord files an eviction filing, the judgment, summons, and any related documents are uploaded to the eCourts system (NY eCourts public portal) and then copied by commercial data aggregators that sell public records to screening firms. Because the law treats these filings as permanent court documents, they never 'age out' of the system.

A record can disappear only if a judge issues a specific order to seal or expunge the case - an uncommon outcome that we discuss in the 'when evictions vanish from NY public view' section. Absent such a court order, the eviction stays on the public filings archive forever, which is why the next section explains how this lingering entry can hurt future rental chances.

Public eviction filings can slam the door on your next lease. Here are five ways they hurt your rental chances in NY:

• Landlords scan eviction notices during background checks and often reject applicants they see as risky.
• Tenant‑screening services flag any public filing, dropping your screening score and making you less competitive.
• Some landlords enforce a strict policy: any eviction record equals automatic disqualification.
• Because eviction records appear in searchable public databases, a simple Google search can reveal them to casual landlords.
• The entry remains attached to your name for years, so future landlords encounter the same record unless you successfully petition for removal (see 'when evictions vanish' later).

Landlords can pull New York eviction records before signing a lease to avoid costly problem tenants. The public filing system makes eviction notices, judgments, and case outcomes searchable, letting you verify a applicant's rental history quickly.

• Visit the New York State Unified Court System's e‑Access portal (NY court e‑Access) and search by the applicant's full name or NY tax ID.
• Use the NYC Department of Finance's online lien and judgment search for borough‑wide filings that aren't in the state court database.
• Subscribe to a tenant‑screening service that pulls the same public records and flags judgments, notices, or pending actions.
• Look for key case types: nonpayment, illegal use, or nuisance complaints. Note the docket number, filing date, and final disposition.
• Check the sealing status: under the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, nonpayment judgments automatically seal after three years of no further filings; successful appeals can also remove or vacate a record.

By running these checks before lease signing, you spot eviction histories early, negotiate terms, or decline applicants with unresolved judgments, protecting your property and cash flow. This proactive step ties into the upcoming section on 2024 NY eviction data trends, where rising filing volumes make diligent screening even more essential.

NY's 2024 eviction filings show a modest rebound after a two‑year decline, with summer still the peak season and non‑payment the leading cause. Recent numbers come from the NYC Open Data 'Housing Court Eviction Filings' set (NYC Open Data) and the State's e‑Courts portal (NY e‑Courts).

• Overall filings Q1 2024 rose ≈3 % versus Q4 2023, still 5 % below the 2021 pandemic peak.
• July - August 2024 accounted for roughly 28 % of the year's filings, repeating the historic summer spike.
• Non‑payment complaints represent about 70 % of all public filings, keeping them the dominant basis.
• Borough averages per month: Brooklyn ~1,050, Queens ~900, Bronx ~800, Manhattan ~600, Staten Island ~200.
• Low‑income ZIP codes (e.g., 11206, 10453) generate 45 % of total filings despite covering only 12 % of the city's households.

These trends frame the data you'll encounter when searching public eviction records later in the article.

Tenants across NY have felt the sting of public eviction records, from job rejections to denied loans. Their stories illustrate why the earlier sections on 'what details appear in your public filing' matter in real life.

Maria, a former nurse, applied for a senior position in Manhattan; the hospital's background check pulled her eviction filing and she was cut from the shortlist. The same public filing later appeared on her credit report, inflating her debt‑to‑income ratio. NY Times report on eviction record and hiring details her experience.

Jamal searched for a new apartment in Brooklyn, but the landlord's online search revealed a 2022 eviction filing and rejected his application despite a clean credit score. The landlord also shared the filing with a private security firm, which flagged him for 'risk assessment.' NYC court eviction records portal shows how easily these documents surface, a problem we'll address in the upcoming 'when evictions vanish from NY public view' section.

Eviction filings disappear from NY's public docket only when a court issues a sealing order; otherwise they stay accessible indefinitely. Sealing is granted in narrow situations - protecting minors, safeguarding sensitive health or safety information, or complying with a specific judicial directive. No routine 'expungement' exists for civil evictions, and tenants cannot simply request removal.

• Example 1:* A 16‑year‑old tenant is named in a landlord's complaint; the judge seals the entire case to shield the minor's identity, rendering the docket invisible to the public.
• Example 2:* A landlord and tenant settle a rent‑arrest dispute and jointly move to seal the record; the court approves only after finding that public disclosure would cause undue harm, after which the filing vanishes from public view but remains in the court's internal system.
• Example 3:* An appeal overturns a default judgment; the appellate court orders the original filing sealed, so the docket no longer appears in standard searches, though private screening services may retain the entry for a few years (see 'minimize your filing's public spread now' for mitigation steps).
• Example 4:* A protection order accompanies the eviction notice; the judge seals the docket to prevent exposing the alleged victim's whereabouts, effectively removing the case from open records.

These scenarios illustrate the limited pathways by which eviction records 'vanish' from NY's public view, contrasting sharply with the permanence discussed earlier.

You can shrink the public footprint of an eviction filing by sealing the record and limiting the data that courts release.

1. File a motion to seal - Ask the court to restrict public access under CPLR 3103 or Housing Court Rule 35.‑34. Show 'good cause,' such as a dismissal, settlement, or proof that disclosure harms your safety or employment.
2. Mind the timing - For non‑payment evictions in NYC Housing Court, file within 35 days of the judgment; for other cases, a good‑cause motion can be filed up to one year after the final order.
3. Request limited‑access posting - When the court grants sealing, ask the clerk to redact your name, address, and SSN from any online docket. The clerk can replace them with 'Confidential' on public portals.
4. Seek a pseudonym if justified - In rare privacy‑sensitive cases, petition the judge to allow a pseudonym for future filings. Approval is discretionary and does not alter the original record.
5. Negotiate confidentiality clauses - If you settle, include language that obliges the landlord to request sealing and prohibit the landlord from sharing the filing with third parties.
6. Monitor public databases - Regularly search the NYC Civil Court and Housing Court online indexes. If the sealed record still appears, file a brief 'motion to correct the public docket' to have it removed.

These steps focus on sealing - the primary tool for keeping eviction records out of public view - since full expungement is rarely available for civil evictions in NY. New York court FAQ on eviction record privacy.

New York provides the broadest online access to eviction notices and filings in the nation, yet it enforces redaction of sensitive identifiers through 22 NYCRR §202.5(e) and allows record sealing only under the limited circumstances set out in RPAPL §751. A tenant's Social Security number or bank account appears blanked in the public docket, while the remainder of the case stays searchable on the state's e‑filing portal.

Most other states, such as California (see Cal. Rules of Court 2.501) and Illinois (see Ill. Sup. Ct. R. 15), also require redaction of SSNs and financial IDs, but they often restrict public viewing by default or automatically seal dismissed actions. Those jurisdictions typically limit searchable access to summary data, making NY's full‑record visibility a notable outlier.