Understanding Evictions: The Basics

The eviction process is the proper way to remove a renter from a rental property. Landlords and property managers cannot use self-help, such as changing locks or removing the tenant’s property, to evict a renter. The eviction process is legal and ensures the landlord’s and tenant’s rights are fully afforded.

Landlords who use self-help risk paying their tenants a month’s rent, court costs, and attorney fees.

This article shares the basics of eviction laws that every tenant and rental property owner should know. Keep in mind that eviction rules and processes vary by state and even city. If you’re facing an eviction (either as a renter or landlord), a local attorney can help you understand your rights, legal protections in your area, and the next best steps.

Reasons To Evict a Tenant

Landlords and property managers need a valid, legal reason to evict a tenant. They can’t evict someone just because they don’t like them. Typically, landlords evict tenants who violate the lease terms.

Here are a few legally valid reasons to start an eviction case:

• Nonpayment of rent
• Illegal activities on the rental property
• Violation of occupancy limits
• Violation of terms of the lease

Eviction Proceedings

Landlords can evict a tenant for cause or without cause, but the eviction process is relatively routine.

First, the landlord must give the renter written notice to vacate the rental unit. They must also provide the renter a reasonable amount of time to respond to the written notice. The written notice should include ways to contact the landlord, like an email address or phone number. To avoid conflict during the process, landlords should send the notice by certified mail with a return receipt proving delivery.

Often, landlords give a three-day notice to vacate. This changed during the COVID-19 pandemic when landlords had to provide a 30-day notice to vacate under the CARES Act. As of 2023, this notice requirement still applies only to public housing and other properties that receive aid from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Be sure to give proper notice, as the failure to do so may hinder your case.

Rules on the length of notice to vacate that tenants in HUD housing must receive are changing quickly. If you live in HUD‑assisted or USDA rural housing, you may no longer automatically get 30 days’ notice before an eviction for nonpayment. But this depends on your state’s laws and changes in HUD policy. Contact a landlord-tenant attorney near you for the latest legal information.

If the renter does not comply with the written notice, the landlord can file an eviction lawsuit in the appropriate court. The court will set a hearing date, which all parties must attend. Both parties should bring a copy of the written lease.

If either party does not attend, they risk a default judgment or a ruling in the opposing party’s favor. After the hearing, the court may issue a court order, including attorney fees and court costs.

In some states, the landlord may use the security deposit to cover unpaid rent if the renter moves out within the time frame outlined in the eviction notice. If the court rules in favor of the landlord, and the tenant still refuses to vacate the rental unit, the landlord can involve local law enforcement to carry out the eviction. If that happens, the tenant may only have a few minutes to gather their personal property.

Eviction for Cause

Most evictions are for a particular reason or cause, such as failure to pay rent or repeated lease agreement violations. Regardless of the cause (unless it’s criminal activity involving law enforcement), landlords must follow the eviction process that allows the tenant to respond to the landlord’s claims. There are three basic types of eviction notices that a landlord may send a tenant:

• Pay rent or quit: Landlords and property managers use this notice if a tenant has missed their rent payment beyond a certain number of days (typically included in the lease agreement). The notice gives the tenant a few days to either pay the rent or quit the lease.
• Cure or quit: This is very similar to the “pay rent or quit” notice but requires the tenant to either cure the given problem (perhaps an unauthorized pet or other lease violations) or quit the lease.
• Unconditional quit: If a tenant gets this notice, the landlord will not allow them to correct the offending behavior or pay back rent. Rather, they must leave or quit the lease, although state laws sometimes limit the conditions to use this type of notice.

Eviction Without Cause

Landlords can often evict tenants who pay rent on time and honor the lease agreement, but they typically must give the tenant 30 or 60 days to leave. Under a fixed-term agreement (such as a one-year lease), the landlord must honor those terms before giving notice. This also applies to month-to-month tenancies, in which the tenant’s lease automatically renews at the end of each month.

Defenses to an Eviction Notice

Consider available defenses before packing your things after receiving an eviction notice. You may still have options.

These defenses include:

• Improper notice: The landlord must follow legal protocol when carrying out an eviction, which includes sufficient notice and proper filing of the court papers.
• Acceptance of partial rent: If your landlord accepts partial or late rent, they generally may not claim a lease violation (and thus initiate the eviction process) based on the partial or late rent payment.
• Poor maintenance of rental property: To claim this defense, the tenant must first notify the landlord of a housing code violation (such as a nonfunctioning toilet) and allow a reasonable time to fix it.
• Retaliation: Landlords may not retaliate against tenants who, for example, report housing code violations to authorities.
• Constructive eviction: When a rental property becomes uninhabitable, and the landlord is unresponsive to requests to remedy this, the tenant has effectively been evicted.
• Fair Housing Act: Your landlord may not evict you based on race, color, national origin, sex, religion, disability, or familial status (such as having children).

Need More Help With an Eviction? Get Legal Advice

While fairly straightforward in most situations, evictions are a still a legal process. Anyone facing an eviction, whether landlord or renter, can benefit from a lawyer’s expertise. A qualified landlord-tenant attorney can guide you through the process, explain how local protections work, and advise on the best path forward to protect your business or your housing.

FindLaw’s directory of landlord-tenant lawyers can get you started. Enter your city or ZIP code for a list of legal professionals in your area. Because state and local eviction laws are relevant, your attorney should be licensed in the state where the property is located. Your search results will also show important details about prospective attorneys, like ratings, areas of practice, and whether they offer free consultations.