As Reported In

4,200 Cases. Both Sides of the Door.

Docket is a New York housing law practice built inside the courts it works — Housing Part, DHCR, Civil Court. We represent rent-stabilized tenants who found a marshal’s notice at 7 a.m., small landlords whose mortgage is due before their next court date, and co-op boards trying to resolve a shareholder holdover without destroying the building’s community. One firm. Both sides. Every borough.

4,200
Cases Filed
19
Years in Housing Court
5
Boroughs Covered
94%
Favorable Outcomes
Case No. 2024-BX-0311Tenant · Bronx

The Notice Taped to the Door

14-Day Notice to CureExhibit A
“PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that you are hereby required to cure the following violations of your lease within FOURTEEN (14) DAYS of service of this notice: unauthorized occupant, failure to permit access for inspection. FAILURE TO CURE SHALL RESULT IN TERMINATION OF YOUR TENANCY.”

Served by certified mail and conspicuous place · Bronx County

The Crisis

Maria R., a 67-year-old rent-stabilized tenant of 22 years, found a 14-day cure notice alleging an unauthorized occupant — her daughter, who had moved in two months earlier after a domestic violence incident. The landlord had surveillance footage. Court date was in eleven days.

The Strategy

We filed an Order to Show Cause to stay any further proceedings and submitted an emergency DHCR complaint establishing the daughter's protected status under the NYC Administrative Code. Simultaneously, we drafted a response to the cure notice documenting the DV circumstances and citing RPL §227-c.

The Resolution

The landlord withdrew the notice before the return date. The daughter was added to the lease as a permitted occupant. Maria has lived in the apartment for 24 years. The file is closed.

Notice Withdrawn · Tenancy Preserved
11 days from notice to resolution
Case No. 2023-QN-1887Landlord · Queens

Eighteen Months in Arrears

Rent Demand — Non-Payment PetitionExhibit A
“Respondent-Tenant owes the sum of $34,800.00 representing eighteen (18) months of unpaid rent at $1,933.33 per month. Petitioner-Landlord demands payment of said arrears or surrender of the premises within THREE (3) DAYS of service hereof, failing which Petitioner will commence summary proceedings.”

Queens County Housing Court · Index No. QN-HTM-2023

The Crisis

David K. owned a two-family house in Jackson Heights. His tenant had not paid since March 2022. The tenant had filed two prior Orders to Show Cause, each buying sixty additional days. David's mortgage servicer had issued a default notice. He had eleven days before the bank moved.

The Strategy

We filed an emergency motion demonstrating the pattern of dilatory OSC filings and requested the court impose conditions on any further stays. We also identified that the tenant had filed a DHCR rent overcharge complaint — a common defensive tactic — and prepared a full rent history going back to the initial lease to preempt it.

The Resolution

The court denied any further stays without a payment deposit. The tenant vacated in lieu of a judgment. We recovered $28,400 through the security deposit, a negotiated payment agreement, and a Small Claims judgment on the balance. David's mortgage was brought current.

$28,400 Recovered · Mortgage Current
Resolved before bank default deadline

“The housing courts move on their own calendar. Our job is to know which levers accelerate that calendar — and which ones slow it down when slowing down is what the client needs.”

— Docket, on housing court strategy

Does this situation sound familiar?

Answer five questions. Get a triage classification and a recommended next step — before you pick up the phone.

What’s Your Housing Situation?
Case No. 2024-MN-0044Co-op Board · Manhattan

The Shareholder Who Would Not Leave

Proprietary Lease Termination NoticeExhibit A
“Pursuant to Paragraph 31(f) of the Proprietary Lease, the Board of Directors of 740 West End Owners Corp. hereby notifies Shareholder that the Proprietary Lease is terminated effective THIRTY (30) DAYS from the date hereof for material breach, including: subletting without Board approval, failure to maintain the unit in good repair, and conduct objectionable to other shareholders.”

Manhattan — Upper West Side Cooperative

The Crisis

A 24-unit co-op on the Upper West Side had been in an undeclared war with one shareholder for three years. Two prior termination notices had been withdrawn under legal pressure. The shareholder had sublet the unit to three separate parties in eighteen months. Two other shareholders threatened to sell if the board didn't resolve it. The building's underlying mortgage was up for renewal.

The Strategy

We audited the prior termination notices and identified the procedural defects that had caused the withdrawals. We rebuilt the termination process from the ground up: proper board resolutions, documented cure periods, shareholder-meeting minutes, and a complete subletting violation log. We coordinated with the building's managing agent to create an evidentiary record that would survive an Article 78 challenge.

The Resolution

The shareholder surrendered the proprietary lease in forty days and accepted a negotiated buyout. No litigation was filed. The mortgage renewed at favorable terms. The building's reserve fund absorbed the legal costs.

Holdover Resolved in 40 Days · No Litigation
Mortgage renewed on schedule

“Co-op disputes aren't just legal problems. They're community problems. The goal is never to win a case — it's to give the building back its equilibrium.”

— Docket, on housing court strategy
“

The housing court is not a neutral institution. It processes volume. The attorney who understands that volume — who knows which clerk, which part, which judge runs a tight calendar — is not just a lawyer. They are a navigator.

— Docket · On the mechanics of Housing Court
“

Every client who walks in with a marshal's notice thinks they have a crisis. Sometimes they do. Sometimes they have a procedural defect in the notice that gives us sixty days and a settlement. The first job is to read the paper they handed you.

— Docket · On intake and triage
Case Assessment

What’s Your Housing Situation?

Five questions. A triage classification. A recommended next step — before a single word is exchanged.

Answer five questions about your situation.

The assessment takes under two minutes. Results classify your matter as Urgent, Time-Sensitive, or Strategic — with a concrete recommended next step.

This assessment is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Results are for informational purposes only.

Schedule a Case Review

The first conversation is always free.

Bring whatever you have — the notice, the petition, the letter from the managing agent. We will read it in front of you and tell you exactly where you stand.

Office

140 Broadway, Suite 2120
New York, NY 10005
Near Housing Court, 111 Centre St.

Not ready to call? Start with the assessment.

Take the Assessment

Case Review Intake

Submitting this form does not create an attorney-client relationship.