Partition Attorney in NYC: How to Force a Court-Ordered Sale

Do you own a property with someone else and you want to sell? And the other person does not want to sell? If so, that sounds like a frustrating situation. The good news is, I can help you. We can force a sale through the court.

Perhaps you inherited your parents' house with your sibling. Or you bought an investment property with a business partner. Or you co-own a property for a different reason. You want to sell, and the other person wants to keep it. Possibly, the other person wants to buy you out, but for a very low price.

Now you have a problem. You can't sell. You can't refinance. You can't move forward. The property just sits there. Meanwhile, tensions rise. Opportunities pass you by.

The good news is, we can fix this. We can file a legal proceeding to force a sale of the property. Once the judge issues an Order, we will not need the other person's permission.

Here's how it works: We file a petition in Court. The court appoints a referee. The referee sells the property. If the parties don't agree, the referee will sell the property. The court will then issue another order. The new order will say how the proceeds of the sale get split up.

One important thing to understand: You don't need everyone to agree. That's the whole point.

Timeline-wise, a partition in New York City typically take from a year to a few years. Yes, it takes time. But it ends the deadlock. You're no longer stuck in an impossible situation.

If you're trapped in a co-ownership situation and need to move forward, I may have a solution for you. I've handled these cases throughout New York City, and I can help you understand your rights and options.

You can call my office to schedule a consultation. We can talk about your situation and figure out how to resolve it. You can contact us by phone at 212-233-1233 or by email at [email protected].

Your Right to Force a Sale

The right to force a sale of co-owned property is statutory in New York. Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL) Article 9 gives any co-owner of real property the right to bring an action for partition. The premise of the statute is straightforward and very old: no one can be compelled to remain a co-owner of property against their will. If you and another person own real estate together and you want out, the court will let you out — by physical division of the property if possible, by sale if not.

This right is available regardless of why you became co-owners. It applies to inherited property, jointly purchased property, property received as a gift, and any other form of co-ownership. It applies to tenants in common, joint tenants, and (in limited circumstances) tenants by the entirety. The right does not depend on the size of your share — even a small percentage owner can bring a partition action.

The Court Procedure in Detail

The partition case is filed in Supreme Court of the county where the property is located. The plaintiff prepares a summons and a verified complaint that identifies the property, the co-owners, the ownership percentages, and any liens or encumbrances. A notice of pendency (lis pendens) is filed at the same time, which puts the world on notice that the property is in litigation. Any buyer, lender, or other party dealing with the property takes subject to the eventual judgment.

The defendants (the other co-owners) are served with the summons and complaint. They have 20 to 30 days to answer depending on the manner of service. If no answer is filed, the plaintiff can take a default judgment. If an answer is filed, the case proceeds through discovery and motion practice. In most partition cases, the defendants do not really contest the right to partition — they may want a sale themselves or may simply be unable to fight it. The contested issues are usually the ownership shares, the accounting between owners, and the mechanics of the sale.

Partition in Kind vs. Partition by Sale

The court has two basic options. Partition in kind means physically dividing the property between the owners — for example, splitting a 10-acre parcel into two 5-acre parcels. Partition by sale means selling the property and dividing the proceeds. The court is supposed to prefer partition in kind, but in reality almost no improved property can be physically divided in a useful way. A house, a brownstone, a commercial building — you cannot saw it in half.

For practical purposes, almost every partition case in New York City ends in a sale. The court enters an interlocutory judgment of partition determining the parties' shares, then a separate judgment directing sale, then a final judgment after the sale is confirmed.

The Referee

The court appoints a referee to handle the sale. The referee is typically an attorney experienced in real estate transactions. The referee retains a broker (often with input from the parties), prepares the property for sale, markets it on the open market, accepts offers, and reports back to the court with the best offer received.

Sales are now usually conducted on the open market rather than as public auctions. Open-market sales generally produce higher prices because professional buyers compete with retail buyers and there is no auction-day pressure to dispose of the property at any price. The referee's report to the court asks for confirmation of the sale, after which closing proceeds.

Accounting Between Co-Owners

One of the most important — and most contested — pieces of a partition case is the accounting between the co-owners. The accounting determines how the net sale proceeds are divided. Several categories of adjustments commonly come up:

• Credit for carrying costs. An owner who has been paying the mortgage, taxes, insurance, and other carrying costs is entitled to credit for the other owners' shares of those payments.
• Credit for capital improvements. An owner who paid for substantial improvements that added value is entitled to credit. Routine maintenance does not qualify.
• Charge for sole occupancy. An owner who lived in the property alone may be charged the fair rental value of the other owners' shares — particularly if the other owners were excluded or barred from the property.
• Charge for waste. An owner who damaged the property or allowed it to deteriorate may be charged for the diminution in value.
• Mortgage and lien payoffs. The mortgage and any other liens are paid off from the sale proceeds before the owners divide what is left.
• Sale costs and attorney fees. The referee's fees, broker's commissions, court costs, and attorney fees can be paid from the proceeds or allocated among the owners.

The accounting can shift the net distribution significantly. We have handled cases where the equal owner who paid all the costs ended up with substantially more than half of the proceeds, because of the credits and charges that built up over years of unequal contributions.

Timeline Expectations

Partition cases are not fast. From filing to closing of the sale, most partition cases take 12 to 24 months in New York City courts, sometimes longer when issues are contested. The major time consumers are: service of the defendants (especially if they are out of state or evading service), discovery (particularly when accounting is contested), the appointment of the referee, the marketing period, and the confirmation process after the offer is received.

Where the parties can agree on most points, partition cases move faster. Where everything is contested, they move slower. Engaging counsel who can prepare clean filings, anticipate objections, and push the case forward through court conferences makes a measurable difference.

Buyout Alternatives

One of the most common outcomes of a partition case — even after filing — is a buyout. The defendant who did not want to sell offers to buy out the plaintiff's interest at a negotiated price. This avoids the sale, the broker's commissions, and the disruption of moving. We work with both buyers and sellers to negotiate buyouts that reflect the realistic value of the parties' positions in the lawsuit.

If the defendant cannot finance a buyout, but wants to keep the property, sometimes a structured purchase can be arranged — partial payment now with a mortgage on the property to secure the balance, paid over time. These structures need careful drafting to make sure the plaintiff is fully protected if payments stop.

Property in Estates

Inherited property generates a large share of partition cases. Siblings inherit a parent's home equally, and the siblings disagree about what to do with it. Estate administration cannot close cleanly until the property issue is resolved. Sometimes the executor brings a partition action, but more often the executor distributes the property to the beneficiaries and a beneficiary then files for partition. Either path leads to the same result — the property is sold or one party buys out the other.