Every state
Tenant and eviction attorneys near you
An eviction notice, an illegal lockout, or a home the landlord will not repair.
Deadline, in general
Often five to ten days to respond after being served, and in some states shorter still.
Eviction moves faster than any other civil case. Once the case is served you may have as little as five days to file a written response, and failing to file it lets the landlord win by default and obtain a lock-out order. The number of days is set by your state, and it is short everywhere.
Tenants also have rights that survive a notice. A landlord may not lock you out or cut utilities to force you out anywhere in the country, a home must be kept habitable regardless of what the lease says, and a growing number of states and cities add just-cause and rent-cap protections on top.
Tell us what happened
A few questions about your situation. It is free, and there is no obligation of any kind.
This may be your situation if
- —You have been served with an unlawful detainer summons and complaint.
- —You received a 3-day, 30-day or 60-day notice.
- —Your landlord changed the locks or shut off utilities.
- —Serious repairs have been ignored — mould, no heat, no hot water, vermin.
- —A rent increase looks larger than the statewide cap allows.
What an attorney generally does here
- —File the response inside the five-day window so nothing is lost by default.
- —Check whether the notice was even valid, which is often the whole case.
- —Raise habitability, retaliation and just-cause defences.
- —Negotiate time to move, or a neutral record, rather than a judgment.
- —Act on an illegal lockout, which is an emergency.
The deadline
Often five to ten days to respond after being served, and in some states shorter still. Set by Your state’s eviction statute — unlawful detainer, summary process or forcible entry.
It is usually measured in court days and starts on service. This is the shortest response window in ordinary civil litigation anywhere in the country, and a default judgment is very difficult to undo. Find your own state’s number the day you are served.
Worth gathering first
- —Every paper you were served, and the date and manner of service.
- —Your lease and any rent receipts or payment records.
- —Photographs of conditions, and every repair request you made.
- —Texts and emails with the landlord or manager.
- —Any notice of rent increase.
If you work in care
A live-in provider’s housing and job are often the same arrangement, so losing one can mean losing both. Where you live in a client’s home, whether you are a tenant or a licensee changes what process the owner must follow, and it is worth establishing early.
Common questions
How long do I have to respond to an eviction?
Generally five days from service of the summons and complaint to file a written response. Missing it allows a default judgment and a lock-out order.
Can my landlord change the locks?
No. Self-help eviction — changing locks, removing belongings, cutting utilities — is unlawful in every state and carries penalties.
Do I have to keep paying rent if repairs are ignored?
There are habitability remedies, but they have conditions and doing it wrong can strengthen an eviction. This is one to take advice on before withholding anything.
Is there free eviction help?
Yes. Legal aid organisations handle evictions at no cost in every state, and most court systems have a self-help centre. Given how short the window is, contact them the day you are served.
Related
Related reading
From our archive, on the situations that lead here.
Rent Increase Limits and Just-Cause Eviction in California: How the Tenant Protection Act Works, Which Homes It Covers and What to Do When a Notice Arrives
For a renter on a fixed income, an older parent on Social Security, or a caregiver living on hourly pay, a large rent increase can decide whether they stay in their home. California's Tenant Protection Act, often called AB 1482, caps yearly rent increases on many rentals and limits the reasons a landlord can end a tenancy. Here is how the cap is calculated, which homes are exempt, what counts as just cause, when a landlord owes relocation money, and where to get free help.
Moving a Parent on SSI Into Your Home: The In-Kind Support Rule That Can Take a Third of the Federal Payment
When an older or disabled relative who receives SSI moves in with family, Social Security can treat the free roof over their head as income and reduce the payment, in the most common case by one-third of the federal benefit rate. Most families find out from an overpayment letter months later. Here is how the in-kind support and maintenance rule works since the 2024 change that took food out of it, the living arrangements California's state supplement uses, the two ways to keep the full payment, and what to report and when.
Grab Rails in a Rented Flat: Disability Accommodations and Modifications California Renters Can Actually Require
Most writing about making a home safe assumes you own it. Renters get told to ask nicely. In fact California and federal fair housing law draw a hard line between a reasonable accommodation, which changes a rule, and a reasonable modification, which changes the building, and a landlord who refuses either can be in breach. Here is the difference, who pays, how to write the request so it cannot be quietly ignored, and what to do when the answer is no.
IHSS and Housing Assistance in California: Resources for Recipients and Providers
IHSS does not pay for housing, but California offers multiple housing assistance programs IHSS recipients and providers can access alongside their IHSS benefits.
This page is general information about how this kind of matter works in the United States, and the rules that matter most here are set state by state — the deadline where you live may be shorter than the general figure given above. It is not legal advice, it is not a substitute for advice about your own situation, and reading it or sending the form does not create an attorney-client relationship. Unified Savers is not a law firm and not a lawyer referral service. Deadlines stated are general rules and exceptions frequently make them shorter. See the disclaimer and privacy policy.