A Louisiana eviction case must be filed in state mandated forms and steps. The duration of the eviction also varies based on: the reason for eviction, court dates, responses from the tenant, etc. The Louisiana eviction process, stemming from serving an eviction notice to the physical eviction of the tenant, takes between 2-6 weeks provided that no major legal hurdles are present. Click To Investigate
An Eviction Process Breakdown in Louisiana
Step 1: Notice of the Eviction (5-10 Days)
The landlord begins the process of eviction by serving the tenant an eviction notice. Different notices come with different procedures:
- 5-Day Notice to Vacate – Relates to evictions stemming from nonpayment of rent. Rent must be paid or leave the premises within a week.
- Lease Violation Notice - if a tenant breaks any available term of a lease, they are given a short window of opportunity (a few days) to fix the reconciliation break to avert further legal step consequences.
- 10-Day Notice for Month-to-Month Termination – provides stated form to end (terminate) month-to-month lease agreement.
- Immediate Notice for Illegal Activity – This type of notice does not afford tenants' grace period to avoid legal action.
Based on the document served, if the tenant does not comply with the notice requirements, the landlord can then file an eviction lawsuit. However, it’s essential to note that all the steps in the legal process can be tedious especially considering the unnecessary legal countermeasures tenants can engage in.
Filing An Eviction Lawsuit (3-5 days)
Should the renter not vacate within the set timeframe, the landlord is required to file a Rule for Possession at the parish court. Depending on the court’s caseload, the filing usually takes a couple of days.
In addition, the court will set the hearing date within 3-5 days after the filing of the lawsuit.
Step 3: Hearing in Court and Ruling (5-10 days)
In the hearing, both parties present their case. If the landlord is able to present valid proof, it is customary that the judge rules for the eviction. Subsequently, the court will issue a writ of possession which allows the tenant twenty four hours to leave the premises voluntarily.
In the event that the tenant fights the eviction, this could prolong the court case between an extra one to two weeks.
Step 4: Sheriff Enforced Eviction (24 hours to 7 days)
In the scenario that the tenant does not leave the premises within twenty four hours of the court decision, the landlord is allowed to request enforcement from the sheriff’s office. Depending on their schedule, the sheriff’s office will carry out the eviction within a week.
The sheriff will come to the site and eject the lessee if they have not vacated the premises on their own. After this, the landlord may retake possession of the rental unit.
Reasons Why an Eviction May Not Go Forward
While the eviction procedure in Louisiana can take as short as two weeks, there are multiple reasons that can stretch it to six weeks or sometimes more. Some of those reasons are:
- Contesting evictions by tenants- This means that if the lessee contests the eviction in court, it can take longer.
- Defectively served eviction notice- If the notice is not served in the correct manner, the process may be required to start over.
- Court scheduling backlogs- This means that if the court has too many cases to deal with, hearing dates would be further delayed.
- Appeals filed by the tenant- If the lessee contests the decision made about the eviction, it can be a long process.
In Conclusion
Based on adherence to laws and actions taken by the tenants, the eviction process in Louisiana would take, on average, two to six weeks. Tenants need to respond in the right manner understanding their rights while landlords must complete all steps to avert delays. Adhering to eviction laws in Louisiana assists in creating balance and efficiency for both parties.
Important Read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_of_process#:~:text=In%20the%20U.S.%20legal%20system,person%20to%20respond%20to%20the