Evictions

The first step to file an eviction is to give the tenant a written notice.

Non-Payment of Rent
If you are evicting your tenant for non-payment of rent, you must give the tenant a 3-day written notice to pay the rent or vacate. When calculating this time, do not count the day of delivery, weekends, or holidays. You may post the notice on the door or hand it to the tenant. The 3-day notice must seek only rent that is due. If the tenant does not comply with the notice, you will need to bring a copy of the 3-day notice to our office and file your eviction complaint with the court.

Possession of Property
If you are evicting your tenant for possession only, you must give the tenant a 7 or 15-day notice (depending on how the tenant pays the rent to you) to vacate. If the tenancy is week to week, you must give a 7-day notice. If the tenancy is month to month, you must give a 15-day notice. If you give a 15-day notice, there must be 15 days between the date you give the notice and the date you want them out. There can be more than 15 days, but no less than 15 days. The 15th day must be on the date the rent is due again. If the tenant does not comply with the notice you will need to bring a copy of the notice to our office and file your eviction complaint with the court.

The second step is to file your eviction with the court. To do this, you can present to the Clerk’s Office copies of the notice that you gave your tenant with the appropriate filing fee. The additional forms needed to file your case can be purchased from the Clerk’s Office for $0.15 cents a page, or printed at no cost via the website www.marioncountyclerk.org.

 
The third step is to have your summons served. Once you have filed your eviction, the clerk will prepare a summons to be served on your tenant. You can have your summons served by the Sheriff or a process server. Once the summons is served, the tenant has 5 business days to respond to your complaint and the summons. The tenant is instructed to file their original answer with the clerk and send a copy to the landlord.

The fourth step is taken after the 5 business days have expired. When the 5 business days have expired, you must file the next appropriate forms so that your case can proceed. If the tenant did not respond to the summons, you would file a Motion for Default and Default form, a Motion for Possession, and Proposed Writ of Possession. If the tenant did respond to the summons, you would need to file a Motion for Possession and Proposed writ of Possession. Once you have filed the appropriate form(s), the clerk will notify the Judge. The Judge will either set the case for a hearing or grant the landlord possession of the property. If the Judge grants the landlord possession of the property, the clerk will issue a Writ of Possession.

The fifth step is to have the Writ of Possession executed. The Sheriff will charge to execute the Writ of Possession. Contact their office for fees. The Sheriff will post the Writ of Possession and then contact the landlord to deliver possession of the property.

***All forms required to file an eviction can be purchased from the Clerk’s Office room 204, for $0.15 cents a page or printed at no cost via the website www.marioncountyclerk.org. under our the “Forms” section.