What to do if you get an eviction notice

An eviction notice is not an eviction. In every state, the landlord’s notice is only the first step: to remove you, the landlord has to file a case in court and win. You have rights at every step, and the deadlines are short. This guide uses the facts in our 51 state guides and ends with a timeline tool.

The kinds of notices

• Pay rent or leave: for unpaid rent. In many states, paying the full amount within the notice period ends the problem.
• Fix a lease problem or leave: for a lease violation, often with a chance to fix it.
• End of tenancy: ends a month-to-month rental, sometimes without a reason. Some states and cities require a legal reason.

How long the notice for unpaid rent is

From our state guides:

• No notice required: Missouri, New Jersey and West Virginia
• 3 days: Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming
• 5 days: Arizona, Illinois, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Wisconsin
• 7 days: Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada and New Hampshire
• 10 days: Colorado, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Indiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Oregon and Pennsylvania
• 14 days: Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and Washington

In Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Utah, the rule counts business or court days, so weekends do not count.

Your lease and local laws can change these periods. See every state in the eviction notice periods by state table.

Your landlord can’t lock you out

Changing the locks, removing your things or cutting off water, heat or electricity to force you out is illegal in most states, and the tenant can often recover damages. For example:

• California: Yes. A landlord may not, in order to force you out, lock you out, change locks, cut off water, gas, electricity or other utilities, remove doors or windows, or take your belongings.
• Texas: Partly.

In Pennsylvania, Texas, West Virginia and Wyoming, our data shows no specific statute or only a partial ban; the state page explains what applies.

If you are served with court papers

Read them the day you get them. The time to answer is often counted in days, not weeks:

• California: 10 days after you are served, not counting Saturdays, Sundays or court holidays.
• Texas: The trial must be set 10 to 21 days after the landlord files, and not sooner than 4 days after you are served (postponed no more than 7 days unless both sides agree in writing).
• Florida: 5 days after you are served, not counting Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays.

If you do not answer or do not go to the hearing, you can lose by default, even if you had a good defense such as a defective notice, retaliation or serious repair problems.

Get help fast

Legal aid offices and court self-help centers help tenants for free. 48 of our state guides link to the court’s own eviction self-help page. Each state page also lists free legal help with phone numbers where we have them.

Step by step

1. Enter your notice in the timeline below to see the dates.
2. Read your state page: the notice rules, the answer deadline and what the landlord may not do.
3. Call legal aid or the court self-help center right away.
4. If you are served, file your answer on time and go to every hearing.