Tennessee Department of Health, If You Rent a Place, Know Your Legal Rights and Duties

You can sue a landlord who breaks How much time must the landlord
the law to force you out. give you to move before he goes to
To make you move, the court?
landlord must first go to How much time you get depends on WHY the
court. landlord wants you out.
• What if you did something dangerous or
threatened to? OR what if your family
or friends did? OR what if your family
or friends made the place unsafe or
When can the landlord make you unhealthy? Then the landlord only has to
move? give you 3 days to move out. Then he can
go to court to have you put out.
If you have a lease, you can
stay in the place until the • What if you didn’t pay your
lease is up. What if you rent? Most of the time the
break the lease? Then the landlord must give you at
landlord can make you least 14 days to move. He must
move before the lease is tell you this in writing. If you
up. don’t move, then he can go to
court.
Not paying your rent is breaking the lease. Doing But, if you have a lease, it may say he
anything that makes the place unhealthy or unsafe can go straight to court. If so, he doesn’t
is breaking the lease. The landlord can take you have to give you a letter and extra time to
to court. If your lease says so, you will have move. You may just get a detainer warrant
to pay the rent. AND the cost of the landlord’s to go to court. A detainer warrant is NOT a
lawyer. What if your landlord can’t rent the warrant for your arrest. It just says when to
apartment again? Then you may have to pay for go to court for the eviction hearing.
the rent for the rest of your lease.
• You may NOT have to move
What if you don’t have a lease? Then the landlord if you pay the rent or fix the
can ask you to move any time. But the landlord problem. You have 14 days 14
must give you written warning of how long