Justice Court Eviction Cases
F.E.D (Eviction)
GENERAL
INFORMATION
PURPOSE OF THE PROCESS
The action is for the possession of the property only. However, the judge will
listen to other limited issues if they are raised by the tenant as a defense to
the action for possession. The court will not give the landlord a judgment for
monies owed. A landlord must file a separate small claims action to be awarded a
judgment of money or to process other non-possession claims.
NOTICE
Prior to seeking assistance from the court, the landlord must serve proper
written notice. If the tenant is required by the notice to do something (pay
rent for example) or to quit doing something (loud music for example) the
landlord cannot obtain assistance from the court unless a tenant does not comply
with the notice. In the case of failure to pay rent, the rent must be 7 or more
days past due before notice can be given. If the tenant does not comply with the
notice within the required time, a complaint can be filed with the court. If the
landlord accepts a partial rent payment, the original notice may no longer be
effective. New filing fees. The
complaint filing fee is $75. The Tenant's Answer fee is also $75.
FIRST APPEARANCE
The first appearance in court will be scheduled approximately 8-15 days after
the landlord files the complaint and pays the fees. At the first appearance the
court will gather information from both the tenant and the landlord to determine
if a hearing should be held. If the tenant fails to appear at the first
appearance, a default judgment will be entered in favor of the landlord for
possession of the premises and costs. If the tenant appears and the landlord
does not, the case will be dismissed. If both parties fail to appear, the case
will be dismissed.
ANSWER
If a trial is ordered, the tenant must file an answer immediately after the
first appearance. The tenant must pay an answer filing fee immediately after
the first appearance. The landlord must pay a trial fee immediately after the
first appearance. Answer forms are available from the Court. The
Answer fee is $75.
TRIAL
A trial will be scheduled for a date within 15 days of the first appearance
unless the landlord agrees to set it for a later date. At the hearing the
landlord must show the court why the landlord should be given possession of the
property. The tenant may also offer evidence to show why the landlord should not
be given possession. After hearing the evidence from the parties present, the
judge will make a ruling.
ENFORCING JUDGMENT
If a judgment for possession is ordered by the court, the landlord can enforce
the judgment by having the court issue a Notice of Restitution and paying
appropriate fees to the court and the sheriff’s office. The notice is served on
the tenant and gives the tenant four days, not counting the day it was served,
to move from the premises. If the tenant does not move, the landlord must
return to the court to request a Writ of Execution and pay a fee of $106 to the
sheriff's office for service.
SHERIFF’S EXECUTION of WRIT OF EXECUTION
The landlord needs to contact the sheriff's office to arrange the service of the
writ of execution, physically remove the tenant and turn the property over to
the landlord.
STORAGE OF TENANT PROPERTY
Once the tenant is removed the landlord may change the locks and must store the
tenant's remaining belongings. The landlord must issue proper notice of the
tenant's rights to the tenant. The notice required is not a form available from
the court.
Court policies and procedures (.pdf)
Legal forms of any notice are not available from the court.
The court cannot give legal advice.
Forms
This page last updated on May 08, 2012