How eviction works under Louisiana’s civil law
Louisiana evictions follow the Code of Civil Procedure, Articles 4701 to 4735, and the lease articles of the Civil Code. The language is different from the rest of the country. The landlord is the lessor, the tenant is the lessee, and the eviction suit is a rule to show cause why possession should not be delivered.
The big practical difference is the notice. Most states give a tenant a few days to pay before the lease ends. Louisiana doesn’t. When the lessee’s right of occupancy has ended, whether by the lease running out, the lessor ending it, nonpayment of rent or any other reason, the lessor delivers a written notice to vacate (CCP art. 4701). Our Louisiana landlord tenant law guide covers deposits and lease terms, so this page stays on the eviction itself.
Louisiana notice to vacate and termination notices
The notice to vacate must give the lessee at least 5 days from delivery to leave (CCP art. 4701). It is the only pre-filing notice the eviction articles require, whatever the reason.
- Nonpayment or lease violation: once the lessee’s right of occupancy has ended, deliver the 5-day notice to vacate. The lease’s default clause decides when a breach ends occupancy, so read it first.
- Waiver in the lease: a lessee can waive the notice to vacate in a written lease. With a waiver, you can file the rule as soon as the right of occupancy ends (CCP art. 4701).
- Month-to-month: written notice of termination at least 10 calendar days before the end of the month (Civil Code arts. 2728 and 2729). For a lease with no definite term, that termination notice also counts as the notice to vacate.
- Fixed-term lease ending: the notice to vacate can be given up to 30 days before the term expires (CCP art. 4701). Leases measured by periods longer than a month need 30 calendar days’ termination notice; weekly leases need 5 (Civil Code art. 2728).
- Occupants who aren’t tenants: a person in the unit who isn’t a lessee is entitled to the same 5-day written notice before a rule can be filed (CCP art. 4702).
Counting the 5 days and delivering the notice
The five days run from delivery. The Code’s general time rule excludes the starting day and, for periods shorter than seven days, excludes legal holidays (CCP art. 5059). Under R.S. 1:55, Sundays are legal holidays, and in some parishes, Orleans among them, every Saturday is too. Counting conservatively and skipping those days avoids a dismissal over a one-day argument.
Deliver the notice in writing and keep proof. If the premises are abandoned or closed, or you don’t know where the lessee is, notices and court papers can be attached to a door of the unit with the same effect as personal service (CCP art. 4703). For drug activity or violence, the same notice applies once the lease’s default clause ends the right of occupancy, so a clear criminal-activity clause in the lease matters.
The Louisiana eviction court case, step by step
Louisiana gives landlords a choice of courts. Justice of the peace courts hear residential evictions regardless of the rent amount (CCP art. 4912), and city and parish courts share that jurisdiction with district courts (CCP art. 4844).
- File the rule to show cause. After the notice to vacate runs out, or immediately if the lease waives it, file a rule stating the grounds for eviction (CCP art. 4731).
- Service. The rule is served on the lessee or occupant. If the place is abandoned or closed, or the lessee can’t be found, it can be attached to a door (CCP art. 4703).
- Hearing. The court makes the rule returnable no earlier than the third day after service and tries it then, hearing any defense (CCP art. 4732).
- Judgment. If you prove your case, or the lessee doesn’t answer or appear, the court renders a judgment of eviction immediately. It stays effective for at least 90 days (CCP art. 4732).
- Warrant for possession. If the lessee hasn’t complied within 24 hours after the judgment, the court issues a warrant directing the sheriff, constable or marshal to deliver possession (CCP art. 4733).
- Execution. The officer executes the warrant in the presence of two witnesses, clears the premises of property and may break open locked doors or gates if needed (CCP art. 4734).
Appeals: why the first 24 hours matter
An appeal doesn’t stop a Louisiana eviction unless three things happen. The lessee must have answered the rule under oath with an affirmative defense that would let them keep possession, must apply for the appeal and must file the appeal bond within 24 hours after the judgment (CCP art. 4735). The court sets the bond at an amount that protects you against the damage the appeal may cause.
Miss any of those and the warrant can issue on schedule even while an appeal goes forward. That’s why Louisiana judges look closely at unsworn answers and at whether the defense, if true, would actually entitle the tenant to stay.
Self-help, abandonment and paying to stay
A lessor may retake the premises without further court process only after the required notice has been given and only on a reasonable belief that the lessee has abandoned them (CCP art. 4731(B)). Signs of abandonment include residential occupancy stopping, keys being returned and furniture being moved out.
In a parish under a federal disaster declaration, an empty unit isn’t evidence of abandonment for 30 days after the initial declaration. A lessor who fails to comply with Article 4731 owes a residential lessee $500 or twice the monthly rent, whichever is greater, and the lessee can get a restraining order (CCP art. 4731(C)). Lockouts outside that narrow abandonment rule invite exactly this claim.
The eviction articles give no right to stop the case by paying once the right of occupancy has ended. If you accept money after serving notice, put in writing whether the tenancy continues.
Federal rules that can change the Louisiana timeline
If the building has a federally backed mortgage, such as a Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or FHA-insured loan, the CARES Act notice rule may apply. Section 4024(c), codified at 15 U.S.C. 9058(c), bars a landlord of a covered property from requiring a tenant to leave until 30 days after a notice to vacate. The 120-day moratorium ended in 2020, but the 30-day text is still in the statute and courts have split on whether it still applies. At a covered building, a 30-day notice in place of 5 days, and no reliance on a lease waiver, sidesteps the question.
Before taking a judgment against a lessee who doesn’t appear, file the military status affidavit the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act requires in every default case (50 U.S.C. 3931).
Louisiana eviction timeline at a glance
This table follows a case from the end of the right of occupancy to the warrant.
| Step | Deadline | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Month-to-month termination | 10 calendar days before month end | Civil Code art. 2728 |
| Notice to vacate | At least 5 days from delivery, unless waived | CCP art. 4701 |
| File rule to show cause | After the notice runs, or at once with a waiver | CCP art. 4731 |
| Hearing | No earlier than the 3rd day after service | CCP art. 4732 |
| Judgment of eviction | Rendered immediately, effective at least 90 days | CCP art. 4732 |
| Suspensive appeal | Sworn answer, appeal and bond within 24 hours | CCP art. 4735 |
| Warrant for possession | If not vacated within 24 hours | CCP art. 4733 |
Worked example: one nonpaying unit in a New Orleans building
Assume a unit in a 10-unit New Orleans building rents for $1,100 a month, or $36.16 a day. Rent is due on the 1st and isn’t paid, and the lease makes nonpayment end the right of occupancy. Assume an attorney charges $500 for an uncontested rule.
Without a waiver, you deliver the notice to vacate on the 2nd (day 1). Counting five days and skipping one Sunday, it runs through day 7, so you file and serve on day 8. The earliest hearing is day 11, the tenant doesn’t appear and judgment is rendered. After 24 hours the warrant issues, and if it’s executed that day you have the unit back on day 12. That’s $434 in lost rent plus $500, or $934.
With a written waiver in the lease, you file and serve on day 1, the hearing is day 4 and the warrant issues on day 5. That’s $181 in lost rent plus $500, or $681. Each extra day of service or scheduling costs another $36.16.
| Scenario | Days to possession | Lost rent | Assumed legal cost | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No waiver, 5-day notice | 12 | $434 | $500 | $934 |
| Lease waives notice to vacate | 5 | $181 | $500 | $681 |
Alternatives to a Louisiana eviction
Because the Louisiana process is so short, the alternatives have to be fast too. A written payment plan works for a tenant who can catch up within weeks, and it should say whether the lease continues or ends on a missed payment.
Cash for keys fits a tenant who can’t pay but will leave. Since a contested case with a sworn defense and appeal bond can stretch well past the $934 minimum, a small payment for a move-out within days, keys returned, is often the cheaper path.
Selling a Louisiana apartment building with a pending eviction
You can sell with a notice to vacate outstanding or a rule pending. The lease follows the building, and the buyer becomes the lessor. A judgment of eviction stays effective for at least 90 days, but whether a new owner can enforce yours depends on the court and timing, so many buyers serve their own notice after closing. Disclose every notice, case and payment plan, share the ledgers and collect tenant estoppel certificates so the buyer knows what each tenant claims to owe.
Selling your Louisiana apartment building to Skyline
Skyline Capital Investments buys apartment buildings with five or more units in Louisiana and nationwide with tenants in place, including buildings with nonpaying tenants, notices served or rules already filed. You don’t need to finish an eviction first.
Send the address and unit count through the form on this page or call (469) 660-2977. We typically respond within 48 hours.
