Tennessee Eviction Process During Pandemic
On March 13, 2020, the Tennessee Supreme Court declared a state of emergency for the Judicial Branch of Tennessee in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Chief Justice Jeffrey S. Bivens issued an Order suspending most in-person proceedings and extending some deadlines in pending litigation. As a part of that initial declaration, the Tennessee Supreme Court temporarily suspended evictions:
Given the economic issues caused by this pandemic, no judge, clerk, or other court official shall take any action to effectuate an eviction, ejectment, or other displacement from a residence during the effective dates of this order based upon the failure to make a rent, loan, or other similar payment absent extraordinary circumstances as determined by a judge in a court of competent jurisdiction. Nothing in this order affects the obligations, terms, or conditions for payment under existing contracts.
The Tennessee Supreme Court has extended the deadline several times since the initial Order entered in March. On April 24, 2020, the Order was extended through May 31, 2020, meaning that landlords cannot evict non-paying tenants until June 1, 2020.
Unfortunately, some tenants have ignored the language about the Order not affecting the obligations, terms, or conditions for payment under existing contracts and have used it as an excuse to withhold rent payments. One non-paying tenant texted his landlord the following when trying to extort payment before he would agree to give up possession of the premises: “You aren't going to win 😂 you might as well do what we want. But go ahead and pay for the court fees and all. If you change your mind let me know. Otherwise we'll be here until around what, maybe August?” As such, many landlords across Tennessee are now stuck managing and maintaining properties with little to no rent payments from tenants. Although landlords cannot evict tenants while the Order is in effect, now is the time to have an experienced landlord/tenant attorney review your lease agreement to assist you in formulating an eviction plan to institute on June 1, 2020.
The Eviction Process in Tennessee—Generally
In Tennessee, landlords must follow specific rules and procedures (often set forth by statute, such as the Tennessee Uniform Residential Landlord Tenant Act (“TURLTA”), which applies in larger Tennessee counties) when evicting a tenant. There are ten counties in Tennessee that currently are subject to the TURLTA: Anderson, Blount, Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Madison, Montgomery, Shelby, Sumner and Knox. If the landlord does not follow the rules, the landlord can delay his or her ability to lawfully evict a tenant.
First, and most importantly, a landlord cannot self-evict a tenant who breaches the terms of the lease. A landlord who attempts to forcibly remove a tenant without obtaining a court order may be sued by the tenant for violating the TURLTA, breaching the peace, property damage, and other claims, even if the tenant has breached the lease. Self-eviction includes acts outside the judicial process that are designed to expel a tenant, such as shutting off essential services like heat and electricity, removing the tenant’s personal property, changing the locks or padlocking the unit, or threatening the tenant. Landlord obligations and eviction procedures vary from county-to-county in Tennessee, which is why it is always a good idea to hire a lawyer to assist in the eviction process.
Generally, the first thing a landlord should do to evict is to provide the tenant with a written notice that an eviction will occur in thirty days if the tenant does not comply with the terms of the lease within fourteen days. (Note: this notice period can be waived if expressly stated in the lease, but it is still good practice to provide notice so you can show the Court that you tried to have the tenant remedy the breach before suing.) This notice must advise the tenant of the rent amount owed or the specific lease provision in violation and must be served on the tenant before a landlord may formally file for an eviction. Tennessee law permits landlords to evict tenants for several specific reasons: nonpayment of rent, holdover at the end of lease term, breach of lease, safety or noise issues, illegal activity, or property abandonment. Keep in mind that a tenant hasn't "received" written notice unless the notice is provided in one of these three ways provided by the Act: hand-delivered by landlord, posted on the property (i.e. taped to the front door, put in the mailbox, etc.), or sent via certified mail. We recommend a combination of those procedures, with one of them including certified mail.
If the tenant refuses to remedy the breach and vacate the property, the landlord must go to General Sessions Court or Circuit Court in the county where the property is located to issue a detainer warrant. While the jurisdictional limit of most matters filed in General Sessions Court is capped at $25,000, there is no limit on detainer actions.
The detainer warrant is served by the sheriff or process server and may be served personally or by posting it on the rental property door. (Again, we recommend also using methods that you can prove were received by the tenant.) If the landlord is requesting money damages along with possession, the detainer warrant must be personally served on the tenant. The detainer warrant advises the tenant of a court date and time, which may not be less than six days after service of the warrant on the tenant, though the parties often may request by agreement that the trial date be extended. The tenant’s failure to appear at the trial will result in a default judgment for the landlord.
An eviction hearing date is set before a judge, and the landlord has the burden of proving that the eviction is warranted based on the tenant’s nonpayment of rent or a violation of the lease. Proper notice must also be established. Evidence may be presented by providing copies of the lease, the notice provided and proof of service, rent receipts, repair estimates, police reports, or witness testimony, among other types of evidence. In General Sessions Court, the landlord wins at trial or by default and is granted possession, the tenant has ten-days to vacate the property. The tenant may appeal the decision within the ten-day period. To do so, the tenant will have to post a bond in the amount of the unpaid rent remaining under the lease, which can be cost-prohibitive for many tenants. If the tenant fails to perfect the appeal by posting an appropriate bond, the General Sessions judgment will become final.
If the tenant still remains in the dwelling after ten-days and the judgment is final, the landlord may ask the Court to issue a writ of possession. The writ gives possession of the residence back to the landlord, and if necessary, the tenant will be physically made to leave by a sheriff and all of tenant's property will be removed from the residence.
Many problems that arise during eviction proceedings stem from failing to have a lease that incorporates the favorable provisions of the TURLTA and failure to adhere to the eviction formalities. If you need help reviewing your lease agreement and/or evicting a tenant once the May 31, 2020 deadline has passed, please contact Meridian Law at (615) 229-7499, info@meridian.law, or www.meridian.law to schedule a free consultation and discuss your options. Although we are practicing “social distancing” at this time we are available by phone, videoconferencing, and email to discuss your options.
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