A "holdover" eviction is any eviction that is not based upon the non-payment of rent. Technically the landlord is claiming that the tenant's lease has expired or has been revoked due to a wrongful or illegal act and the tenant nevertheless "holds over", i.e. refuses to leave.
The landlord may claim that the lease is revoked based upon many different reasons. For example, the landlord may claim that the tenant is causing a nuisance by excess noise, that the tenant has wrongfully made alterations to the premises, has pets living there in violation of the lease, is chronically late in rent, or is not using the premises as his or her primary residence.
The tenant can potentially assert a whole host of defenses to the action. Some of these defenses can be considered to be "procedural". For example, he may claim that he was not properly served with the court papers, or that there is some defect in the papers, i.e. wrong apartment number, etc. Because the rules in Housing Court are very technical and are strictly enforced, these types of defenses can work, but the landlord can always re-file a new eviction action, correcting the error or errors.
Additionally, the tenant may assert a more "substantive" defense to the action. He may claim that, contrary to the landlord's claims, he did not make noise, did not pay his rent chronically late, did not have a pet, etc. When dealing with a situation involving a rent stabilized apartment which is substantially below the market rent, it is likely that this type case will have to proceed to trial. This is the type of situation where it is more likely that both sides will be represented by attorneys.
