A guide to evicting a tenant

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(FORTUNE Small Business) -- Dear FSB: I need to find out what the proper steps are to evict a tenant from an accessory apartment, like the two-bedroom unit built onto our attached garage.

- Joy Graceffo, Huntington Station, N.Y.

Dear Joy: Though you may not be running your rental as a full-scale business, the basics of the tenant-landlord relationship apply here.

Whether you are a small business subleting space to residential or to commercial tenants, there are countless reasons why you might want to send tenants packing, but only one way to evict a tenant in New York: a landlord must sue in court and win the case.

According to Gary Wachtel, an attorney who has been practicing New York landlord tenant real estate and commercial litigation law for 22 years, there are basically two types of proceedings you bring to the housing department of state court: a nonpayment proceeding or a holdover proceeding.

In a nonpayment proceeding, the landlord seeks to collect rent, or, alternatively, evict a tenant for failing to pay rent. The other option, a holdover action, is taken when the tenant remains beyond the expiration of their lease. A holdover is also the route to take if you've served your tenant with an early termination because they've breached the terms of their lease, and are refusing to leave.

For both types of action, following appropriate notice (as outlined in your lease), the landlord brings the proceeding to court by preparing a petition requesting a court hearing, serving it on the tenant, and filing it with the court.

The tenant is required to respond, just as a defendant would. The court then makes a decision as to whether a landlord is entitled to evict a tenant based on a trial, motion, or as the result of a settlement agreement.

"There are myriad statutes that govern the rights of landlords in New York. There are rent control laws, rent stabilization laws and contract laws, to name just a few, that can affect how to proceed in housing court," says Wachtel, who emphasizes the importance of finding an experienced attorney to guide you.

Even if the landlord wins the proceeding, he or she can't simply hire someone to oust the tenants. The landlord must get a final judgment of possession from the court, and a Warrant of Eviction. Then, only a sheriff, marshal or constable can physically evict the tenants.