Stop Guessing. Start the Process Right.
Your tenant hasn't paid. Maybe they've trashed the place. Maybe they're running a business out of your rental. Whatever the reason, you need them out — and you need to do it legally, because the alternative costs ten times more than the eviction itself.
The eviction process is straightforward if you follow it correctly. It's a series of steps: serve the right notice, wait the required time, file with the court, show up with your evidence, and let the sheriff execute the order. Most landlords who struggle with eviction don't struggle because the process is complicated. They struggle because they skip steps, serve the wrong notice, or file too early.
This guide breaks down exactly what you need to do, the mistakes that will cost you time and money, how long it takes in your state, and what it's going to cost. No fluff. Just the information you need to take action.
The Step-by-Step Process
From the first notice to the sheriff showing up at the door. Every step in order with nothing skipped.
Read the Guide →Mistakes That Kill Your Case
The errors landlords make that get cases dismissed, delayed, or thrown out. Avoid all of them.
See the List →State Timelines
How long eviction actually takes in different states. Notice periods, court timelines, and total time to possession.
Check Your State →Cost Breakdown
Filing fees, attorney costs, lost rent, turnover expenses. The real cost of removing a tenant.
See the Numbers →The Five Stages of Every Eviction
Regardless of your state, every eviction follows the same basic structure. The details vary — notice periods, court procedures, and timelines are all state-specific — but the framework is universal.
Stage 1: Grounds. Something happens that gives you legal justification to evict. Non-payment of rent, lease violation, expired lease with no renewal, illegal activity. You need a valid, documented reason.
Stage 2: Notice. You serve the tenant with a written notice — the type of notice depends on the reason for eviction. Pay-or-quit for non-payment, cure-or-quit for lease violations, unconditional quit for serious issues. The notice must be served correctly using a method your state recognizes.
Stage 3: Filing. If the tenant doesn't comply with the notice within the required timeframe, you file an eviction complaint with the court. You pay the filing fee, submit your paperwork, and get a hearing date.
Stage 4: Court. You show up to the hearing with your evidence — lease, notice, proof of service, payment records, documentation of violations. The judge hears both sides and makes a ruling. If you win, you get a judgment for possession.
Stage 5: Execution. You request a writ of possession, the sheriff serves it on the tenant, and if they still don't leave, the sheriff removes them. You change the locks and take your property back.
That's it. Five stages. The landlords who do this efficiently treat it like a checklist — complete each step correctly before moving to the next. The ones who struggle are the ones who try to skip ahead or cut corners.
Do not attempt self-help eviction. Changing locks, shutting off utilities, removing doors, or physically removing the tenant is illegal in every state. Even if the tenant owes you thousands. Even if they're destroying your property. The court process is the only legal path to removal, and self-help eviction will result in you paying the tenant — not the other way around.
How Long Does Eviction Take?
The total time from first notice to getting your property back depends almost entirely on your state. In landlord-friendly states like Texas, Virginia, and Georgia, the entire process can be completed in as little as three to four weeks. In tenant-friendly states like New York, California, and New Jersey, it can take three to six months or longer.
The biggest variables are the required notice period (3 to 30+ days), how quickly the court schedules hearings (1 to 4 weeks after filing), whether the tenant contests the eviction, and whether the tenant appeals a judgment against them. Each of these can add days to months to the process.
The one thing that adds the most time across all states? Mistakes. Filing before the notice period expires adds weeks. Serving the wrong notice type means starting over. Missing a court date means rescheduling. Every error resets the clock on part of the process.
Check your state's timeline. This side-by-side comparison tool lets you see exactly how long the eviction process takes in your state versus others — notice periods, court timelines, and total estimated time from start to finish.
What It's Going to Cost You
Nobody goes into an eviction expecting to make money. The question is how much you're going to lose before you can start generating income from the property again. The national average cost of an eviction — including lost rent, legal fees, court costs, and turnover — is roughly $3,500. But that's an average. In high-cost markets or contested cases, the number can easily reach $7,000 to $10,000 or more.
The direct costs include court filing fees ($30-$300 depending on jurisdiction), process server or sheriff service fees ($50-$100), attorney fees if you hire one ($500-$2,000 for a standard case), and writ of possession execution fees ($50-$200). The indirect costs — lost rent, property damage, turnover and re-leasing expenses — are usually far greater than the legal costs.
The cheapest eviction is the one you never have to file. That means screening tenants thoroughly before they move in, catching problems early and addressing them, and knowing when to offer "cash for keys" (paying the tenant to leave voluntarily) instead of grinding through the court process. Sometimes writing a check for $1,000 to avoid a $5,000 eviction is the smart move.
Better screening prevents most evictions. The majority of evictions could be avoided with proper tenant screening upfront. Learn how to screen tenants effectively so you don't end up back in eviction court.
Start Here
If you're currently dealing with a non-paying tenant or a lease violation, start with the step-by-step process guide. It walks you through exactly what to do in order. Then read the common mistakes to make sure you don't trip up on something preventable. Check the state timelines so you know how long to plan for, and review the cost breakdown so there are no financial surprises.
The sooner you start the process correctly, the sooner you get your property back. Every day you wait is a day of lost income you're not getting back.