NY RPAPL Article 9 Partition Actions

Article 9 of New York's Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL) governs partition actions. In plain terms, a partition action is the procedure co-owners use when they cannot agree on what to do with real property (e.g., divide it, sell it, or otherwise resolve their respective interests).^[1]

Below is a roadmap to all sections in Article 9 (Action for Partition). I plan to add a link for each section as I publish individual posts.

Article 9 Sections (RPAPL)

• § 901 By whom maintainable
• § 903 Necessary defendants
• § 904 Permissible defendants
• § 905 Complaint
• § 907 Trial of title or interest
• § 911 Ascertainment of rights of parties before interlocutory judgment on default or admission or where party is an infant, absentee or unknown defendant
• § 913 Inquiry as to creditors
• § 915 Interlocutory judgment
• § 916 Interlocutory judgment directing partial partition
• § 917 Interlocutory judgment directing partition in common
• § 918 Interlocutory judgment directing sale or exception of lien or dower interest
• § 919 Interlocutory judgment directing credit on sale
• § 921 Actual partition
• § 922 Meeting of commissioners; report of actual partition; confirming or setting aside report
• § 923 Security for credit on sale
• § 925 Report of sale; confirmation
• § 927 Contents of judgment after actual partition
• § 928 Effect of judgment after actual partition
• § 929 Lien of creditor upon share partitioned
• § 931 Contents of judgment after sale
• § 933 Effect of judgment after sale
• § 941 Judgment as to parties having interest in entire property
• § 943 Judgment directing compensation to equalize partition
• § 945 Judgment adjusting rents and profits
• § 947 Judgment affecting state tax claim
• § 951 Recording of judgment
• § 961 Disposition of proceeds of sale
• § 962 Payment of proceeds into court where there are liens
• § 963 Payment of proceeds out of court where there are liens
• § 964 Payment of proceeds into court in cases involving decedent's property
• § 965 Payment of proceeds out of court in cases involving decedent's property
• § 966 Payment of proceeds directly to parties in cases involving decedent's property
• § 967 Payment of proceeds to owner of particular or future estate
• § 968 Manner of payment of proceeds to owner of particular or future estate
• § 969 Shares of infant, incompetent or conservatee
• § 970 Shares of unknown or absent owner
• § 971 Security for refund
• § 973 Report of disposition of proceeds
• § 981 Costs and expenses
• § 991 Proceeding for share of unknown heirs; presumption of death; service
• § 992 Judgment in proceeding for share of unknown heirs
• § 993 Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act

Note on RPAPL 993 (How it fits into Article 9)

RPAPL § 993 is part of Article 9. It does not replace partition law generally; instead, it creates a special set of procedures and protections that apply when the property qualifies as "heirs property." In other words: a case can be a normal Article 9 partition action, but if the court determines the property is "heirs property," § 993 supplies additional (and often outcome-shaping) rules for how the partition proceeds.