COLLECTING ON A MONEY JUDGMENT
AGAINST YOUR LANDLORD
© 1998 by Neighborhood Legal Services,Inc.
_______________________________________________________

     This memo is about what you can do if you have won a money judgment against someone and he or she has not paid you. First, the memo will tell you how to put a lien on property. Second, it will tell you how to obtain a rent levy. It will cost approximately $14.00 to put a lien on someone's property. It will cost approximately $37.00 to obtain a rent levy, but if you are successful in collecting rents, you should get most of the $37.00 back.

PROPERTY LIENS

     If you appeared in Small Claims Court without a lawyer, there are two forms that you need to put a lien on property. They are a Transcript of Judgment form, and a Notice to Judgment Debtor form. First, you must file a Transcript of Judgment form with the Erie County Court Clerk. Then, you must send a Notice to Judgment Debtor form to the person you have the judgment against (your landlord). These steps are described below:

STEP 1:

FILE TRANSCRIPT OF JUDGMENT WITH THE ERIE COUNTY COURT CLERK

     You must file a Transcript of Judgment with the Erie County Court Clerk. The clerk's office is located at 92 Franklin Street in Buffalo. The number is 858-7766. After the Transcript is filed, a lien is automatically put on the landlord's property in Erie County.

Where do I find a Transcript of Judgment form (Form # T 1165)?

-- You can purchase them at David S. Williamson Co., Inc. The Transcript of Judgment form costs $1.85 plus tax.

What does a Transcript of Judgment form look like, and how should I fill it out?

-- A sample Transcript of Judgment form is attached to the end of this memo. Look at the form while you read this. The following letters match the letters filled in on the sample form. This will tell you how to fill the form out. It indicates how to fill out the form. The following numbers correspond with numbers on the sample form, and describe how each section should be filled out:

A If you do not know the amount of the damages or costs awarded to you, you can call the court to find out. If you were in Buffalo City Court, the number you should call is 847-8213.

B & C These sections must be filled out by the Court Clerk, prior to filing the form in the Erie County Court Clerk's office. In Buffalo, the clerk's office is on the first floor of the Buffalo City Court located at 50 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo.

D This section will be filled out by the Erie County Court Clerk when the form is filed.

How and where do I file the Transcript of Judgment form, and how much will it cost?

-- You must go to both the court you won your judgment in and Erie County Court. You must:

(1) Take the Transcript of Judgment form to the court clerk (in Buffalo City Court, go to the judgment room). The Court Clerk will list when the judgment was docketed (in section B of the form), and then verify that the judgment is docketed (in section C of the form).

(2) Take the Transcript to the Erie County Court Clerk's office and go to the cashier line. The fee for filing the transcript is $10.00. After you pay, the cashier will tell you what you need to do to complete the filing.

STEP 2:

SEND A NOTICE TO JUDGMENT DEBTOR FORM TO THE LANDLORD.

In addition to filing the Transcript of Judgment, you must also send a notice to the landlord. The form you need is called a Notice to Judgment Debtor.

Where do I find a Notice to Judgment Debtor form (Form # T 426)?

-- You can purchase these forms at David F. Williamson Co. The Notice to Judgment Debtor form costs $1.95 plus tax.

What does the Notice to Judgment Debtor form look like, and how do I fill it out?

-- A sample Notice to Judgment Debtor form is attached to the back of this memo. The form is very easy to fill out: all you need to do is fill in the information filled in on the sample Notice.

How do I serve the Notice to Judgment Debtor form on the landlord?

-- You may serve the Notice in any number of ways. Some of these ways are listed on the back of the form.

Do I need an affidavit of service for the Notice to Judgment Debtor?

-- YES! Be sure that whoever serves the Notice signs an affidavit of service. This affidavit does not have to be filed when the Notice is served. However, you will need the affidavit if you want to obtain a rent levy at a later date. There is an affidavit on the back of the Notice to Judgment Debtor form.

After you complete the above steps, you have successfully put a lien on the landlord's property in Erie County. The lien will also automatically attach to any property the landlord buys in Erie County in the future. If the landlord tries to sell any of these properties, your interest is recorded with the Erie County Clerk. Before the landlord receives any money from the sale of the property, your judgment must be satisfied. The lien is good for ten years, and may be renewed for another ten year period if necessary.

RENT LEVY

If you have a money judgment against a landlord, you may be able to collect on the judgment with a rent levy. Where a landlord has tenants, the tenants' rents will be paid to the Erie County Sheriff and then to you instead of to the landlord, until the money you are owed is paid. First, if possible, you need to find out the names of the landlord's current tenants. Second, you need to file an Execution with Notice to Garnishee Form with the Sheriff's office for each tenant. The Sheriff's Department is located at 134 West Eagle Street in Buffalo. These two steps are described below:

(1) FIND OUT THE NAMES OF THE LANDLORD'S TENANTS

How do I find out what rental property the landlord owns?

-- You may find out what property the landlord own by:

(a) checking with the tax assessor's office on the first floor of the Rath Building. Their phone number is 851-5733; or by

(b) checking at the information desk in the Erie County Court Clerk's office.

Be sure to ask for a description of each property listing (i.e., what kind/type of property is it -- residential, commercial, owner-occupied, rental, etc.).

Do I need to know the names of the landlord's current tenants before I can get a rent levy?

-- Not necessarily. However, the Erie County Sheriff suggests that you make a good effort to find out what the names of the tenants are before attempting a rent levy. You can find out the names of the current tenants by driving by the properties listed as owned by the landlord and either checking the mailboxes or knocking and asking for names.

What do I do if I can't find out the names of the current residents?

-- If you can not find out the names of the tenants after driving by or knocking, you can call the current resident "New Tenant," or "Jane/John Doe." The Sheriff will usually have a hard time enforcing the levy without knowing the tenant's name, and you may not get your money.

After you have the names of the tenants, you may proceed with the second step: filing an Execution with Notice to Garnishee form with the Sheriff's office for each tenant.

(2) FILE AN EXECUTION WITH NOTICE TO GARNISHEE FORM WITH THE SHERIFF

In order to obtain a rent levy, you must file an Execution with Notice to Garnishee Form with the Erie County Sheriff's office. You will have to pay a $30.00 fee to do this.

Where do I find an Execution with Notice to Garnishee form (Form # DFW-28)?

-- You can purchase them at David F. Williamson Co., Inc. located in the Ellicott Square Building. The Notice to Garnishee form costs $1.85 plus tax.

What does an Execution with Notice to Garnishee form look like, and how do I fill it out?

-- A sample Execution with Notice to Garnishee form is attached to the back of this memo. If you have questions about how to fill out this form, you may contact the Erie County Sheriff Office's civil division at 858-7606.

How and where do I file the Execution with Notice to Garnishee form?

-- You must file this form with the Erie County Sheriff's Civil Division, located at:

134 West Eagle Street, Fourth Floor
Tel. No. 858-7606

-- For each tenant you want to obtain a rent levy against, you must give the Sheriff the following:

(1) The original Execution with Notice to Garnishee form and five copies;
(2) the original affidavit of service for the Notice to Judgment Debtor form and five copies; and
(3) a check for the rent levy fee and mileage.

How much will it cost to obtain a rent levy?

-- It usually costs $30.00, plus the cost of mileage to and from the current tenant's address. You can call the Erie County Sheriff's Department at 858-6253 for more fee information. In the City of Buffalo, the mileage fee is $3.00 for zip codes 14201, 14202, 14203, and 14204. The mileage fee for all other Buffalo City zip codes is $5.00.

-- If the landlord's current tenant lives in Buffalo, it should cost you either $33.00 or $35.00, depending on what the zip code is, for the rent levy.

How long is the rent levy good for?

-- A rent levy against a third party is good for 90 days after the service of the Execution with Notice to Garnishee by the Sheriff.

After the 90 days is up, what must I do to collect my money?

-- Unless you motion the court to extend the 90 day period, you must start all over again (in other words, you must give the Sheriff all the paperwork again and pay all the fees again).

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