How to Evict Someone in Tennessee

Tennessee uses two systems of eviction laws. Counties with over 75,000 people follow the federal Uniform Residential Landlord-Tenant Act, while those with smaller populations follow Tennessee Code. Despite this, most elements of both systems overlap and both require landlords to follow certain rules when evicting a tenant.

For example, a landlord cannot self-evict a tenant. They can remove a tenant only for just cause. Landlords must serve a notice to the tenant and after the notice expires, file an eviction action in court. Failure to follow proper legal procedures can result in not only an unsuccessful eviction action, but a lawsuit for the landlord.

Read on to learn more about the Tennessee eviction process.

The federal Uniform Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (URLTA) was created in 1972 to modernize landlord/tenant law. Participation and adoption of URLTA by states was not required, and as of 2022, only 21 states have adopted URLTA – Tennessee is one such state.

Only counties in the Volunteer State with populations of over 75,000 have adopted URLTA.

Landlord/tenant relationships in counties not covered under URLTA are regulated under the Tennessee Code.

Tennessee landlords must meet specific obligations when it comes to their renters.

Under Tennessee eviction law, landlords are obligated to:

• ‌Health & Safety.‌ Comply with all building and housing codes affecting renters' health and safety.
• ‌Maintain the Property.‌ Repair and do whatever is necessary to maintain the property in a condition that is fit and habitable for renters.
• ‌Clean Common Areas.‌ Keep all common areas on the property clean and safe.
• ‌Appliance‌ ‌Maintenance‌‌.‌ Maintain all facilities and appliances, including air-conditioning, electrical, heating, plumbing, sanitation and ventilation in proper and safe working condition.
• ‌Trash.‌ Provide and maintain appropriate receptacles on the property for trash removal and other waste and arrange for its removal.
• ‌Water.‌ Supply renters with running water, including reasonable amounts of hot water and reasonable heating from October 1 to May 1. (There are exceptions where the law doesn’t require a building to be equipped with heat or where both heat and water are generated through systems controlled by the renter.)

Under some circumstances, a landlord may allow a renter to perform their own repairs or maintenance. However, the law prohibits rental agreements allowing landlords to receive rent without complying with the above obligations.

A renter also has obligations to the person or company from whom they rent their unit. Renters must:

• ‌Codes.‌ Comply with obligations imposed upon them by applicable building and housing codes.
• ‌Cleanliness.‌ Keep their unit as clean and safe as the premises permits.
• ‌Trash.‌ Dispose of trash and other waste from their unit in a manner that is clean and safe.
• ‌Plumbing.‌ Keep plumbing fixtures in their unit as clear as the premises permits.
• ‌Appliances.‌ Use facilities and appliances, including air-conditioning, electrical, heating, plumbing, sanitation, and ventilation, in their usual manner and keep them in proper and safe working condition.

A renter in Tennessee may or may not have a lease agreement. The most common type of lease agreement in the state is for a one-year term, and the tenant will pay rent each month. A lease agreement is a legally binding contract – tenants and landlords are expected to fulfill its terms and not break the lease.

Tennessee state law does not allow landlords or property management companies to evict tenants without cause. In other words, a landlord cannot evict a renter for no reason. Some lease violations allow renters to fix or “cure” the issue; other issues are not fixable.

A landlord can serve a tenant or a co-tenant with an eviction notice personally by posting the notice to their door or sending it via certified mail.

Legal grounds to evict a tenant include:

• ‌Rent Nonpayment.‌ Rent is considered late five days after the due date.
• ‌Health Violations.‌ Health and safety violations that threaten others and the property, such as letting trash pile up inside the rental unit.
• ‌Pests.‌ Providing a harbor for pests and rodents.
• ‌Drugs & Violence.‌ Illegal activities, such as those that are drug-related or violent.
• ‌Unit Damage.‌ Damaging the unit beyond normal wear and tear.
• ‌Lease Violations.‌ Rental agreement violations, such as hiding a pet.
• ‌Lease Termination‌. If renter stays beyond the lease and refuses to leave, they can be evicted.

If a Tennessee landlord does not have a legal reason for a tenant’s eviction, the only way they can remove the tenant is to wait until the tenancy or lease ends. In some instances, the landlord is still required to give the renter proper notice that the tenancy will end by a specific date.

This is typically the case when the lease states that a landlord will give notice.

Here is how the notice period differs between month-to-month and fixed-term tenancies.

Under URLTA, landlords must give tenants written notice of eviction. For curable violations beyond normal wear and tear that can be remedied by the cost of repairs, a landlord must give a renter 14 days’ notice to cure the issue or vacate the premises.

If the same violation occurs within six months after the first, the landlord can give the renter seven days’ notice to vacate. This time, the renter does not have an option to cure the violation and must leave the premises.

If the renter commits an incurable violation that cannot be remedied by repairs, the landlord must give the renter 14 days’ notice to vacate the property – they do not have the option to fix the violation. A tenant will get a 14-day notice to quit for nonpayment of rent. They have until the end of that period to remedy the nonpayment or be evicted.

For curable violations beyond normal wear and tear that can be remedied by the cost of repairs, a landlord must give a renter 14 days’ notice to cure the issue or vacate the premises.

If the same violation occurs within a period of six months after the first notice, the landlord will give the renter 14 days’ notice to vacate. This time, they do not have an option to cure the violation and must leave the premises.

If the renter commits an incurable violation that cannot be remedied by repair costs, the landlord must give the renter 30 days’ notice to vacate the property – the renter does not have the option to fix the violation. A tenant will get a 14-day notice to quit for nonpayment of rent. They have until the end of that period to remedy the nonpayment or be evicted.

If the tenant has acted egregiously by substantially damaging the property, assaulting another person on the property, threatening violence, committing a health and safety violation, or engaging in any another illegal activity, the landlord can serve that renter with a 3-day notice to quit.

This type of notice is incurable. The renter has no choice but to move out or face a legal eviction action.

Before a landlord can file a formal eviction complaint in court, they must wait for the time in the notice to pass – between three and 30 days, depending on the specific cause. To file the eviction complaint, the landlord will go to a General Sessions Court or Circuit Court in the county of the property’s location.

The court will issue a detainer warrant, which tells the renter that they are headed for a formal eviction action. It includes the court date and time, which will be more than six days after the tenant receives notice. If the tenant fails to appear on that date, the landlord wins the eviction action by default judgment.

A sheriff or process server can serve the detainer warrant to the renter personally or by posting it on the rental property’s door. If the landlord requests monetary damages as well as possession of the premises, law enforcement must personally serve the detainer warrant to the renter.

At the eviction hearing, the landlord has the burden of convincing the court that they have just cause to evict the tenant. They must also prove that they properly served notice on the tenant.

Landlords can show evidence of this by providing the court with copies of the lease, the notice and proof of its service, rent or repair receipts, police reports or testimony from witnesses.

If the tenant shows up for the eviction hearing, they, too, present their case to the court with their supporting documents. From this evidence, a judge will make a decision. If the landlord wins the eviction action, the tenant has 10 days to vacate the unit. The renter can appeal the court’s decision within that time.

If the tenant remains on the property after 10 days, the landlord can ask the court for a Writ of Possession. This order allows the sheriff to remove the tenant and their property without notice to the renter on the 11th day after the issuance of the eviction order. It takes from four to eight weeks to complete the eviction process in Tennessee.

A landlord cannot forcibly remove a tenant themselves – they can do so only through a court order after an eviction hearing.

Self-eviction actions, like turning off utilities, changing locks, removing the tenant’s property or threatening the tenant can lead to a lawsuit against the landlord by the tenant. Only law enforcement can carry out the physical removal of a renter.

Other examples of illegal self-eviction that can lead to the landlord being sued include:

• Racial discrimination.
• Tenant's association with the LGBTQ+ community.
• Retaliatory eviction. For example, a renter reported the landlord to authorities for not performing specific duties, such as repairing issues in the unit or maintaining the unit in compliance with health and safety codes.
• Tenant's involvement in a tenant union or organization.

If a renter has left their personal property behind after they’ve moved out, the landlord must notify the renter of their intention to remove the belongings and dispose of them. However, the landlord can’t dispose of the property right away – they must allow the renter 30 days to collect their belongings.

If the renter does not claim their property within that time, the landlord can dispose of it or sell it. While the landlord or their representatives can remove the renter's personal property, law enforcement will be on hand to supervise the event and ensure peace.

If the landlord chooses to sell the property, what they earn from the sale can go toward unpaid rent or damages owed by the renter.