Sullivan County, New York Eviction Risk: High

Sullivan County carries an average eviction-risk score of 7.9/10 (High) across its 30 cities, placing it 13th riskiest of 60 counties in New York. That rank means only 12 counties in the state present more landlord exposure, while 47 are comparatively more landlord-friendly. For investors underwriting deals in this corner of the Catskills, the numbers behind that label are stark: 54.2% of residents rent rather than own, the average rent burden sits at 32.3% of income, and the poverty rate reaches 25.4%. Those structural conditions make payment disruptions a recurring operational reality, not an occasional outlier.

Intra-county scores span a meaningful range, from 6.8 at the low end to 8.1 at the top. That spread tells landlords the county average is not the whole story. A property in a lower-scoring community carries materially different risk than one in the county seats and larger villages that cluster near the ceiling. Understanding where a specific address sits within that 6.8 to 8.1 band matters far more than any single headline figure.

The cities inside Sullivan County

The highest-risk tier in Sullivan County is crowded. Monticello, the county seat and largest community at 7,279 residents, scores 8.1/10. Liberty (population 5,142) also scores 8.1/10, as do South Fallsburg, Fallsburg, Bloomingburg, and Hankins, all at 8.1/10. Loch Sheldrake and Woodridge each score 8/10. Landlords concentrating holdings in these communities face the most compressed risk profile the county offers.

Step toward Rock Hill, which scores 7.6/10 at a population of 2,546, and conditions ease somewhat. Wurtsboro and Wurtsboro Hills each score 7.9/10. Even those softer numbers remain well inside the High tier, which underscores a core point: risk is hyper-local in Sullivan County, but there is no genuinely low-risk ZIP code here. Investors should score each acquisition individually against its city-level figure rather than relying on the county average.

State-level laws that apply here

Every landlord in Sullivan County operates under New York eviction laws state law, primarily N.Y. RPL § 226 et seq. and RPAPL § 711. Notice requirements are layered by reason and tenancy length. A nonpayment-of-rent case requires a 14-day notice under RPAPL § 711(2). A material lease violation triggers a shorter 10-day cure notice under RPAPL § 711(1). Holdover timelines escalate with tenure: 30 days for tenancies under one year, 60 days for one to two years, and 90 days for tenancies of two or more years, all governed by RPL § 226-c. Just-cause eviction requirements apply statewide, and local rent caps vary by locality, adding another layer of research before acquiring any unit. The New York eviction process is thus procedurally demanding even before accounting for court scheduling, and landlords unfamiliar with it regularly face delays from missed notice steps alone.

Once a case is properly filed, court costs range from $45 to $210 in filing fees, with sheriff lockout fees adding $50 to $200 more. Attorney fees for a contested matter run $1,000 to $4,000, and timelines stretch from 30 to 90 days uncontested or 90 to 210 days if the tenant contests. Understanding New York eviction costs before acquiring property here is essential to accurate pro-forma underwriting, because a single contested case can consume months of gross rent.

With a poverty rate of 25.4% and more than half of residents renting (54.2%), Sullivan County's city-by-city grid above shows where that pressure concentrates most, giving landlords a street-level starting point for due diligence.