To evict a tenant for not paying rent, you serve a written pay-or-quit notice, file an unlawful detainer lawsuit if the tenant doesn’t pay or move out, win a judgment for possession at a court hearing, and then have the sheriff carry out the removal. Every state requires this formal court process. Changing the locks, hauling belongings to the curb, or shutting off utilities is illegal almost everywhere. Start to finish, the case can take a few weeks in fast jurisdictions or six months and up where courts are backlogged or tenant protections are strong.
Get Your Own House in Order First
Before you file anything, look at the case from the tenant attorney’s side of the table. A judge who sees an unresolved landlord failure will not be sympathetic to your complaint about missed rent checks.
Most states recognize the implied warranty of habitability. If the unit has no working heat, broken plumbing, a pest infestation, or similar serious defects, the tenant can argue that your failure to maintain the property justified withholding rent. Fix habitability problems before you start the eviction clock.
Watch the retaliation window. If the tenant recently reported a code violation, complained to a government agency, or otherwise exercised a legal right, courts in many states will presume that an eviction filed shortly after is retaliatory. The presumption often runs for six months from the protected activity. Nonpayment cases can still go forward during that window, but the burden flips to you to prove the case is genuinely about unpaid rent.
Check your own compliance with the lease. Unresolved landlord violations give the tenant ammunition to delay the case and can get it dismissed.
Step 1: Serve a Notice to Pay or Quit
The first formal step is delivering a written notice, usually called a Notice to Pay Rent or Quit. It tells the tenant exactly how much they owe and gives them a set number of days to pay in full or move out. If they do neither, you can go to court.
The notice needs to include the tenant’s name, the property address, the exact dollar amount owed, and the period the debt covers. Whether late fees or other charges can be included depends on your jurisdiction and the lease. Keep the notice to what you can clearly document. Padding it with disputed charges lets the tenant challenge the whole thing.
Deadlines depend on location. Many states use a three-to-five-day window; some require 14 days or more. Delivery methods are strict and vary by state: handing the notice directly to the tenant, leaving it with another adult at the property and mailing a copy, or posting it on the door and mailing a copy. Improper service is one of the most common reasons eviction cases get dismissed. Follow your local rules exactly.
The 30-Day Federal Notice for Covered Properties
If your property has a federally backed mortgage or participates in a federal housing program, the CARES Act requires at least 30 days’ notice to vacate, regardless of what state law allows. This provision has no expiration date.
Covered properties include rentals with mortgages insured, guaranteed, or securitized by a federal agency, Fannie Mae, or Freddie Mac, and units in programs such as public housing, Section 8, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, and various HUD and USDA programs. Many landlords don’t realize their property qualifies, especially those with conventional mortgages later sold on the secondary market. Check with your loan servicer before serving anything shorter than 30 days.
Do Not Accept Rent After Serving the Notice
This is where landlords most often torpedo their own cases. Once you’ve served a pay-or-quit notice, accepting any payment from the tenant, even a partial one, can nullify the notice. From the court’s perspective, the notice demanded payment or possession, and by taking money you chose payment. You’d have to start over with a new notice.
If a check appears under your door, don’t cash it. If money comes in electronically, don’t touch it. Ask an attorney how to handle the funds without creating a waiver problem, because the specifics vary by state and lease terms.
Step 2: File the Unlawful Detainer Lawsuit
If the notice deadline passes without full payment or a voluntary move-out, file suit. The action is usually called an unlawful detainer, though the exact name varies. You file in the county where the property sits, pay a filing fee, and submit documentation supporting the case.
The complaint describes the property, identifies the tenant, explains the basis for eviction, and attaches the lease along with proof the notice was properly served. Proof of service is typically a signed statement describing exactly how and when the notice was delivered. Courts are particular about this paperwork.
Filing fees generally run from about $50 to $500 depending on the jurisdiction and the amount claimed. Some courts allow online filing; others require an in-person trip to the clerk. After the complaint is filed, the court issues a summons that must be formally served on the tenant, who then has a set number of days to respond.
Step 3: The Hearing and Judgment
If the tenant doesn’t respond in time, you can ask the court for a default judgment and win without a hearing. A judge will still review your paperwork before signing off.
If the tenant does respond, the case goes to a hearing or trial. Expect defenses along the lines of: the property was uninhabitable, the notice was served incorrectly, the amount is wrong, or the eviction is retaliatory. Bring the lease, payment records, the notice with proof of service, and documentation of any repair requests and how you handled them. Organized evidence makes the case much harder to derail.
Your goal is a judgment for possession, the court order that legally entitles you to reclaim the property. Many courts can issue a money judgment for unpaid rent at the same time; some jurisdictions handle the money claim separately.
Eviction Diversion and Mediation
A growing number of courts run eviction diversion programs that try to resolve cases before trial. These programs connect tenants with rental assistance funds and bring in mediators to negotiate payment plans. In some courts, participation is mandatory before the case can proceed. When diversion works, it gets the landlord paid faster and cheaper than a full trial. Engage with it in good faith if it’s offered.
Step 4: The Writ of Possession and Sheriff Removal
Winning a judgment does not authorize you to remove the tenant personally. Self-help evictions, including changing the locks, shutting off utilities, or removing belongings, are illegal in virtually every state. Landlords who do it face penalties that can include paying the tenant’s temporary housing, returning prepaid rent, and in some states, misdemeanor charges.
The lawful step is to take the judgment back to the court clerk and request a writ of possession. That document directs law enforcement, usually the sheriff’s office, to carry out the physical eviction. The officer posts a final notice at the property giving the tenant a last deadline to leave voluntarily, which ranges from 24 hours to several days depending on the jurisdiction. If the tenant still refuses, the officer returns to remove them.
The writ carries its own fee, and the sheriff’s office may charge a service fee on top. Budget for both.
Recovering the Unpaid Rent
Getting the tenant out doesn’t put money back in your pocket. If the court issued a money judgment along with possession, the tenant owes the amount plus court costs. If they don’t pay voluntarily, you can pursue wage garnishment or bank account levies, though there is often a waiting period before enforcement.
If the eviction court didn’t address the money claim, or if the amount exceeds what that court handles, you may need a separate action in small claims or civil court. Small claims dollar limits vary widely by jurisdiction.
Collecting a judgment and actually getting paid are different things. Many tenants who fall behind simply don’t have the money. The judgment stays on the record and can be enforced for years, but landlords often recover only a fraction of what they’re owed.
Your Duty to Mitigate Damages
In roughly 40 states, landlords have a legal duty to mitigate damages after a tenant leaves or is evicted. You can’t let the unit sit empty while the meter runs on what the former tenant owes. You have to make reasonable efforts to re-rent: advertising, showing the property, and setting a fair market rent. If you don’t, a court can reduce the former tenant’s liability by the amount a new tenant would have paid. You’re not required to accept the first applicant through the door, but you need to show genuine effort.
Handling Property Left Behind
After the eviction, you’ll often find belongings the tenant left. You cannot simply throw them out. Most states require written notice to the former tenant that their property remains on the premises, then storage for a set period, typically 10 to 30 days depending on the jurisdiction. Some states let you charge reasonable storage costs. After the storage period ends without a claim, you can generally dispose of or sell the items. Skipping the notice or storage step exposes you to liability for the value of the property, so follow the process even when storing someone’s old furniture at your expense feels absurd.