- In order for a landlord to file eviction proceedings in Tennessee, his tenant must have committed an act which violates the terms of the lease agreement such as failing to pay rent or willfully damaging the property. A tenant who violates noise ordinances repeatedly or is convicted of a drug-related offense during his tenancy may also be evicted from a rental property through a court order.
- Tennessee law requires that a tenant receive written notice of the landlord's intent to file eviction proceedings in court. The notice is required to contain the reason for eviction, a method or remedy for the situation to stop the eviction filing and a time period allotted to vacate the premises. A second written notice is required 14 days prior to the beginning of formal eviction proceedings against the tenant. A tenant may receive notices through certified mail, hand delivered by the landlord or attached to the rental property.
- A formal eviction hearing is held to determine if the tenant did indeed violate the terms of his lease. All the landlord needs to prove in this instance is that the tenant is in violation and has made no attempts to bring the agreement back into compliance. A tenant may also present evidence if he believes eviction proceedings have been enacted due to discriminatory reasons based on age, race, ethnicity or other protected criteria or retaliatory reasons such as demands for repair to the property. If the court rules in favor of the landlord, the tenant has a 10-day window within which to conduct an appeal of the decision.
- If his appeal is unsuccessful, a tenant is required to vacate the rental property. Local sheriff's officials supervise the actual eviction process and all of the tenant's property is physically removed from the rental property. It is illegal for a landlord to withhold a tenant's property and deny him access to the rental property for the purpose of removing his personal property as part of the eviction process.
previous post