The first thing that a landlord must understand is that when starting the evictions process NYC tenants must be taken to court, and it is, in effect, a court proceeding in which the judge will determine if you can evict a tenant from your property. According to Mr. Syed, considered the best eviction lawyer NYC has in practice, you must first send out a notice to your tenant, outlining the time and location of the court proceedings, and the reason(s) why you are evicting them. One of the toughest aspects of being an out-of-state landlord in the evictions process is that everything must be done promptly. You must send out the notice to your tenant within a specific time frame, giving them ample time to mount a defense for the case – this is a minimum of 10 days before the court date, and a maximum of 17 days in NYS.