Syracuse Eviction Court Data: Courts Denied 36% of Landlord Petitions in 2024

Syracuse City Court Data Reveals Courts Denied Over One-Third of Eviction Cases Filed in 2024

An examination of Syracuse City Court eviction records reveals that in 2024, courts denied 36% of all eviction petitions filed by landlords. Of 4,498 nonpayment petitions filed, 1,618 were dismissed. Holdover petitions saw a similar pattern: 307 of 823 filed were denied, a rate of 37%.

Filings at Four-Year High

Total eviction filings in Syracuse reached their highest point since the expiration of pandemic-era moratoriums. In 2024, landlords filed 5,321 eviction petitions across nonpayment and holdover categories, up from 4,866 in 2023 and 3,966 in 2022. Pre-pandemic levels in 2019 stood at approximately 5,400 filings.

Reasons for Dismissal

Court records indicate the most common reasons for dismissal include:

• Improper service of notice — Landlords failed to properly serve the required 14-day rent demand or termination notice as mandated by New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL).
• Defective petitions — Petitions lacked required elements such as accurate descriptions of premises, correct tenant names, or proper verification.
• Rent regulation violations — In regulated units, landlords failed to register with the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) or issued improper rent demands exceeding the legal regulated rent.
• Failure to appear — Petitioners did not appear at scheduled court dates, resulting in default dismissal.
• Payment before hearing — Tenants paid the amount demanded before the court date, rendering the petition moot.

Warrant and Eviction Execution Data

Of the petitions that were not dismissed in 2024, courts issued 2,142 warrants of eviction across both case types. However, city marshal records show only 891 physical evictions were executed during the same period, meaning roughly 58% of issued warrants did not result in a physical removal.

Legal aid organizations report that many tenants vacate voluntarily after a warrant is issued, while others negotiate post-judgment stipulations to remain in the unit.

Housing Market Context

The filing increase coincides with rising rents in the Syracuse metropolitan area. According to U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey data, median gross rent in Syracuse increased from $788 in 2019 to $923 in 2023, a 17.1% increase. During the same period, median household income for renter-occupied households rose 11.3%.

The Onondaga County Point-in-Time count conducted in January 2024 identified 687 individuals experiencing homelessness, up from 581 in January 2023, an 18.2% increase.

Legal Representation Rates

Data from the New York State Office of Court Administration shows that in Syracuse City Court eviction proceedings in 2024, landlords had legal representation in 74% of cases. Tenants had legal representation in 12% of cases. The remaining 88% of tenants appeared pro se or did not appear.

The Legal Services of Central New York and the Volunteer Lawyers Project reported handling a combined 1,847 eviction defense matters in Onondaga County during fiscal year 2024.

Annual Eviction Impact

Based on average household size for renter-occupied units in Syracuse (2.31 persons per unit, per Census data) and the number of executed evictions, approximately 2,058 individuals were physically displaced through the eviction process in 2024. When including cases where tenants vacated after warrant issuance but before marshal execution, that figure rises to an estimated range of 4,900 to 5,200 individuals.

Accounting for all filed petitions where tenants either were evicted, vacated under pressure, or reached move-out agreements, housing court records suggest between 13,000 and 15,000 Syracuse residents faced some stage of the eviction process in 2024.

Sources

• Syracuse City Court, Civil Division — Landlord-Tenant Case Records, 2022–2024
• New York State Unified Court System — Annual Caseload Activity Reports
• U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, 2019 and 2023
• Onondaga County Continuum of Care — Point-in-Time Count Reports, 2023 and 2024
• New York State Office of Court Administration — Representation in Housing Court data
• Legal Services of Central New York — Annual Report, FY2024
• New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL), Articles 7 and 7A

This report presents publicly available court data and government statistics without commentary or editorial opinion. All figures are drawn from the sources listed above.