The Tennessee Eviction Process

The Tennessee Eviction Process

The process to evict a tenant varies widely from place to place. In Tennessee, landlords must keenly follow the rules and procedures stipulated by Tennessee statutes. Otherwise, the eviction process might not be valid in the end.

Eviction laws in Tennessee are further broken down depending on the county you are in. For example, the Tennessee Code under Title 66, Chapter 28 contains the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act that governs specific counties. They include Hamilton, Knox, Davidson, Shelby, Blount, Anderson, Bradley et cetera.

As such, it is important for landlords to familiarize themselves with all applicable laws concerning the Tennessee eviction process. If you’re a landlord in Tennessee this guide is especially for you. Read on.

The Tennessee Eviction Process

  • The Tennessee Eviction Process

If you wish to evict a tenant before the expiry of the landlord-tenant lease agreement, you must have cause. You may legally evict a tenant for any of the reasons listed below:
  • Non-payment of rent
  • Violations of the lease agreement
  • Wastage or nuisance, and;
  • Expiration of a lease
rent-payment
The first step in the eviction process begins by handing your tenant an eviction notice. Again, the type of notice is dependent on the reason(s) for eviction.
  • Fourteen-Day Notice – You can serve an eviction notice to the tenant if he or she has committed any of these: failed to pay rent; damaged your rental property; or committed a violent act at the rental unit. Violent acts may include threats to tenants or other people in the Tennessee rental unit property.
  • 3-Day Notice – You give the tenant this eviction notice if any drug-related activities were committed within the rental premises. This notice only allows the tenant three days to leave the rental property. You can also file an eviction lawsuit against the tenant at the expiry of the 3 days.
  • 30-day Notice to Cure – You serve the tenant a 30-day notice to cure/resolve any lease.If the tenant is unable to fix the violation within that time, you can go ahead and file an eviction lawsuit.

  • Detainer Warrant

If the notice period in the eviction notice has lapsed, and the tenant has not yet moved out, you can go to court. Usually, the General Sessions Court. Here, you need to ask for a Detainer Warrant from the court clerk. There’s some fee for filing.

Next, the matter will be taken up by the Tennessee county sheriff who is going to deliver the eviction notice to the tenant. The Detainer Warrant tells the tenant where and when the court date is.

  • A Date With The Court

court
Needless to say, you need to appear in court in order to win the eviction. You automatically win by default if the defendant (the tenant) fails to show up. If the tenant shows up, then the court proceedings continue.

To win, you need to produce all relevant evidence in court. These include witnesses, rent receipts, the eviction notice, et cetera. Assuming the judge rules in your favor, the tenant will have a maximum of ten days to leave. The tenant can also appeal the ruling within this period.

  • Sheriff Removal

If the tenant hasn’t yet vacated the rental property on the 11th day after the order, you can ask the court to send the sheriff. Remember, under Tennessee evictions laws, you cannot forcibly remove the tenant by yourself even after winning the case. It must be done by a law enforcement officer.

This is done after you have filed (with general sessions court) a Writ of Possession for leased premises. The Writ is the document that allows you to take back your property. After 2-3 days of the Writ of Possession being filed, the sheriff has no other choice than to conduct the eviction.

Also, don’t deny the tenant access to the rental property or shut off utilities. You wouldn’t want to be sued for damages, would you?

After the tenant has left the rental premises, the landlord may discover some items have been left behind. In such a case, the law requires you to notify the tenant that they have within 30 days to collect their belongings. Assuming the tenant doesn’t claim the property within 30 days, you’re then at liberty to get rid of it.

Conclusion

You must carefully follow all the rules and procedures stipulated in the Tennessee laws when conducting an eviction. Despite appearing burdensome, the rules and procedures are necessary. If you are not familiar with the Tennessee eviction process or landlord-tenant laws you can seek help from a property management company. At Omni Property Management we do our best to make sure our website covers the basics of everything you need to know about the eviction process, however this is not to be seen as legal advice.

Although eviction processes differ slightly in some counties, most evictions in Tennessee are handled by the General Sessions courts. Click here for more info. You also need to hire a consultant if you’re unsure of any part of the eviction process.

Posted by: Omnirealty on December 1, 2017
Posted in: Uncategorized
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