Outline of the eviction process in Tennessee

Tennessee evictions are filed as a detainer warrant in the general sessions court of the county where the property sits, under the forcible entry and detainer chapter (Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-18-101 and following). What notice you owe the tenant before filing depends on where the property is. The Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA, title 66, chapter 28) applies only in counties that had more than 75,000 people in the 2010 federal census (§ 66-28-102(a)). Everywhere else, the notice rules come from § 66-7-109 and the lease. The court procedure, appeal rules and 48-hour property rule are the same statewide.

The latest procedural changes date from 2024: postponements were cut to seven days, the appeal bond statute was amended (a tenant now posts one year’s rent), and a sheriff-based remedy was created for squatters who were never tenants.

1. Which law applies, and the grounds for eviction

URLTA counties. A county does not join URLTA by growing; the test is the 2010 census. The Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services lists the URLTA counties as Anderson, Blount, Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Knox, Madison, Maury, Montgomery, Rutherford, Sevier, Shelby, Sullivan, Sumner, Washington, Williamson and Wilson. Some lists add Greene and Putnam, but their 2010 census counts (68,831 and 72,321) fall below the line.

Grounds. Tennessee has no just-cause requirement, and state law bars local rent control (§ 66-35-102(a)). In the counties where URLTA applies, the act says it occupies and preempts the entire field of landlord and tenant regulation, and the county governing body may not enact rules that conflict with or add to it (§ 66-28-102(e)). We found no local eviction notice rules anywhere in the state. A landlord may evict for unpaid rent, a material lease violation, violent or dangerous conduct, an unauthorized occupant, or because the tenancy has ended. In URLTA counties a landlord may not bring or threaten a possession action in retaliation for a tenant’s complaint or use of URLTA remedies, unless the tenant is in default in rent (§ 66-28-514).

2. Notices

URLTA counties

• Nonpayment and other curable breaches: 14 days (§ 66-28-505(a)(2)). A written notice specifying the acts and omissions that make up the breach; the rental agreement terminates if the breach is not remedied within 14 days after the tenant receives the notice. Any repairs the tenant makes to cure must be requested in writing by the tenant and authorized in writing by the landlord first.
• Breaches that cannot be cured by payment: 14 days, no cure (§ 66-28-505(a)(3)). The notice states a termination date not less than 14 days after receipt.
• Repeat breach: 7 days (§ 66-28-505(a)(2)(B)). If substantially the same act or omission recurs within six months of a prior notice, the landlord may terminate on at least seven days’ written notice specifying the breach and the termination date.
• Violence, danger, hazardous or unsanitary conditions, unauthorized subtenants: 3 days (§ 66-28-517). The notice must specifically detail the violation and runs from the date the tenant receives it. Where domestic abuse is the underlying offense, only the perpetrator may be evicted.
• Periodic tenancies (§ 66-28-512). Week to week: written notice at least 10 days before the termination date. Month to month: written notice at least 30 days before the periodic rental date named in the notice.
• Waiver of notice for nonpayment (§ 66-28-505(b)). The lease may waive the nonpayment notice, but only if the waiver is set out in 12-point bold type or larger. The waiver does not shorten the five-day grace period for late fees in § 66-28-201.

Counties outside URLTA (§ 66-7-109)

• 14 days for unpaid rent, damage beyond normal wear and tear, or violent or dangerous conduct. For rent and damage, if the tenant adequately remedies the breach before the date in the notice, the rental agreement does not terminate. A repeat within six months allows termination on at least 14 days’ written notice with no cure.
• 30 days from the date the notice is given for all other lease defaults.
• 3 days for a violent act, drug-related criminal activity, or conduct that is a real and present danger, where the tenant is not mentally or physically disabled (§ 66-7-109(d)), and 3 days for an unauthorized subtenant or occupant who refuses to leave (§ 66-7-109(f)).
• Ending a month-to-month tenancy outside URLTA is governed by the lease and common law, not § 66-28-512; confirm the notice period with counsel.

How notices are given and how days run. URLTA does not prescribe hand delivery, certified mail or posting. It requires written notice to the last known or designated address in the lease (§ 66-28-106), and it allows email to an address the tenant supplied in the rental agreement unless a specific form of notice is required (§ 66-28-108). URLTA landlords must also tell the tenant in writing, at the start of the tenancy, who manages the property and who is authorized to receive notices and service of process (§ 66-28-302(a)). Because the 14-day and 3-day URLTA periods run from receipt, use a method that proves when the tenant got the notice, and allow for mailing time. Outside URLTA the 30-day period runs from the date the notice is given. Federally backed or subsidized properties may also be subject to the federal CARES Act 30-day notice for nonpayment.

In URLTA counties, accepting rent without reservation and with knowledge of a default waives the right to terminate for that breach (§ 66-28-508).

3. Filing

File a detainer warrant with the general sessions court clerk in the county where the property is located (§ 29-18-107). Fees are set locally; check the clerk’s schedule. The detainer chapter says no notice to quit is needed other than the warrant (§ 29-18-113), but that does not excuse the termination notices above, which are what end the tenancy.

Entity landlords. The Shelby County General Sessions Court’s civil FAQ says corporations must have legal representation in any court proceeding; confirm with your local clerk.

4. Service and the hearing

The statute contemplates service by the sheriff, a deputy, a constable or a private process server, and the warrant may be served on any adult found in possession of the premises (§ 29-18-115). The trial date must be at least six days after service (§ 29-18-117).

Posting is a last resort and limits the judgment. Only after personal service has been attempted on three different dates, with the attempts documented on the face of the warrant, may the server post a copy on the door, mail a copy by first class mail, and note that on the warrant, all at least six days before the court date. Service made that way supports a judgment for possession only, not a money judgment (§ 29-18-115(e)).

In general sessions practice the tenant normally does not file a written answer; the case is decided at the hearing. Either side may ask to postpone the trial for good reason, but for no more than seven days unless the parties agree, no civil court is in session, or the plaintiff requests it (§ 29-18-118; the limit was 15 days before July 1, 2024). Bring the lease, the ledger, the notice and proof of receipt. If you win possession, the judge is also to determine the unpaid rent, interest and damages and enter judgment for them (§ 29-18-125), provided the tenant was served in a way that supports a money judgment.

We found no Tennessee statute letting a tenant reinstate by paying after judgment; the cure rights are those in the notices.

5. Judgment and appeal

Either party may appeal to the circuit court within 10 days, and the appeal is heard de novo (§§ 27-5-108, 29-18-128).

An appeal does not by itself keep the tenant in the unit. As amended in 2024, the statute says a tenant’s appeal must not be allowed unless the tenant posts a bond, a cash deposit, an irrevocable letter of credit or two good personal sureties in the amount of one year’s rent, and if the tenant appeals without complying, the landlord need not post a bond to obtain possession (§ 29-18-130(b)(2)).

We found no Tennessee statute sealing eviction records, and no statewide right to counsel or mandatory mediation.

6. The writ and the lockout

Ten-day wait. No writ of possession may issue until 10 days after the judgment (§ 29-18-126). If no appeal is taken in that time, execution for possession issues by operation of law (§ 27-5-108(d)). In practice you still request the writ from the clerk and pay a fee, as Shelby County’s court describes, and who carries it out varies locally.

Who executes it. The statutory writ is addressed to the sheriff or any constable of the county and commands the officer to remove the defendant and put the plaintiff in peaceable possession (§ 29-18-127(a)).

Tenant property: the 48-hour rule (§ 29-18-127(b) to (d)). When the tenant is removed, the landlord or its representative must place the tenant’s personal property on the premises, in an appropriate area clear of the entrance and at a reasonable distance from any roadway, and must not disturb it for 48 hours. After 48 hours, whatever remains may be discarded.

Abandonment is a different rule (§ 66-28-405, URLTA counties). An unexplained or extended absence of 30 days or more without rent paid is prima facie evidence of abandonment. So is rent 15 days past due plus other facts showing the tenant has permanently left, but then you must post and mail a notice and wait 10 days for the tenant to contact you; if the tenant does, you must use the court process. Either way the landlord must remove and store the tenant’s possessions for at least 30 days before selling them.

Self-help. Without a writ, a landlord may not lock the tenant out or cut off essential services. In URLTA counties a tenant who is unlawfully removed or excluded may recover possession or terminate the lease and, either way, recover actual damages, punitive damages when appropriate, and a reasonable attorney’s fee (§ 66-28-504). Outside URLTA, § 29-18-101 allows entry only where given by law and in a peaceable manner, so use the court process everywhere.

Squatters. Since July 1, 2024, § 29-18-135 lets an owner submit a verified complaint to the sheriff to remove unauthorized occupants of a residential dwelling without a detainer case. It is not available against a current or former tenant or the owner’s immediate family, and a person wrongfully removed may recover damages including triple the fair market rent plus attorney fees.

7. Nashville and Memphis

We found no city eviction notice rules in either place. In Davidson County, Metro Nashville has funded an Eviction Right to Counsel program since 2022 through the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands and partners, and local news reported in June 2026 that the Metro Council voted to make it permanent; we did not read the Metro code text. Expect more represented tenants in Nashville.

Recent law changes landlords should know

• Postponements cut to seven days (2024). Acts 2024, ch. 755 (HB 2267) amended § 29-18-118, effective July 1, 2024.
• Tenant’s appeal security. § 29-18-130(b)(2), amended by Acts 2022, ch. 817 and Acts 2024, ch. 755: one year’s rent.
• Landlord disclosure duty (January 1, 2025). Acts 2024, ch. 907 rewrote § 66-28-302(a): in URLTA counties the landlord must disclose in writing, at or before the start of the tenancy, the name and address of the managing agent and of the person authorized to accept service of process and notices, plus a phone number, email or portal for maintenance requests.
• Squatter removal through the sheriff (July 1, 2024). Acts 2024, ch. 1009, § 29-18-135.
• 2025 and 2026 sessions. The history lines in the 2025 Tennessee Code show no 2025 amendments to the notice, service, writ or appeal sections described here, and we found no enacted 2026 change to eviction procedure. Separately, Acts 2026, ch. 606 (SB 350) bars lease bans on tenants’ lawful firearm possession in leases made or renewed on or after January 1, 2027.

What actually goes wrong

• Using the wrong regime, or assuming a fast-growing county has joined URLTA.
• Counting from the date on the notice when the URLTA periods start at receipt.
• Relying on a notice waiver that is not in 12-point bold type.
• Accepting rent without reservation after serving a termination notice.
• Expecting a money judgment after post-and-mail service.
• Touching the tenant’s property inside 48 hours after the writ, or skipping the 30-day storage rule in an abandonment.

When to bring in an attorney

An individual landlord with a clean 14-day notice and an uncontested nonpayment case can often handle general sessions alone. Use counsel when the owner is an entity, when the tenant has a lawyer or raises retaliation or fair housing, for 3-day terminations, subsidized housing or any appeal, and when you are unsure which notice regime applies. The Tennessee attorneys listed below represent landlords in general sessions and circuit courts.

Sources

• Tenn. Code Ann. title 29, chapter 18 (Forcible Entry and Detainer), §§ 29-18-101 to 29-18-135 as cited above; Acts 2022, ch. 817; Acts 2024, chs. 755 and 1009; Acts 2026, ch. 606.
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 27-5-108 (appeals from general sessions court).
• Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Tenn. Code Ann. title 66, chapter 28, sections as cited above.
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-7-109 (notice of termination outside URLTA counties) and § 66-35-102 (rent control preemption).
• Shelby County General Sessions Court, Civil Division FAQ; Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services (help4tn.org), URLTA county list; U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts (2010 counts); Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, Eviction Right to Counsel program.

This guide is general information about Tennessee procedure and is not legal advice. Local court practice varies by county, and statutes change. Confirm the current text before relying on any deadline.