Eviction Cost Calculator

The Real Price Tag of an Eviction

The true cost of an eviction is lost rent plus legal costs plus restoration plus re-renting, and lost rent is usually the largest piece. Most landlords budget for the court filing fee and are surprised by everything else. This calculator totals all four buckets and shows what each one contributes, so you can see where the money actually goes and whether a negotiated exit would cost less.

Use your own figures. The default inputs are placeholders, and the state comparison figures shown in the calculator are rough planning ranges rather than official data. Court fees, notice periods and how quickly cases are heard vary by state, county and even courthouse, so call your court clerk and a local landlord-tenant attorney for current numbers before you rely on any estimate.

The Four Cost Components

1. Lost rent

Count every month from the first unpaid rent until a new tenant’s rent starts: the notice period, the wait for a hearing, any stay or appeal period, the time for the officer to enforce the judgment, and the turnover gap afterward. Each step is outside your control except the first, which is how quickly you serve a correct notice. In the calculator, enter this as “months lost”; be honest rather than hopeful.

2. Legal fees and court costs

This bucket covers the attorney (often a flat fee for an uncontested non-payment case, more if the tenant files an answer or raises defenses), the court filing fee, the cost of serving the summons, and the fee to have the sheriff, marshal or constable enforce the judgment and return possession. Filing fees are set by each state or court and change, so check your court’s fee schedule rather than relying on a national figure. A contested case, a jury demand or an appeal can multiply this bucket.

3. Property restoration

Units recovered through eviction often need more than a normal turnover: repairs, deep cleaning, paint, sometimes flooring, plus removal and lawful handling of anything left behind. Your state may have specific rules for abandoned personal property, so follow them before discarding anything. Damage beyond normal wear and tear can be charged against the security deposit if you meet your state’s itemization deadline.

4. Turnover and re-renting

Advertising, showings, screening, and any leasing fee if you use an agent. The same tenant screening checklist you use here is your best protection against repeating the process, as long as you apply the same written criteria to every applicant in line with fair housing law.

A Worked Example

Example (hypothetical): a $1,500-a-month unit where the tenant stops paying. Using the calculator’s default inputs:

That is about 4.6 months of gross rent. Now assume the landlord holds a $1,500 security deposit and can lawfully apply it to unpaid rent and damage after giving the required itemized statement. The net out-of-pocket cost drops to $5,350, still more than three and a half months of rent.

Run the delay case. If the case is contested and the unit sits for four months instead of two, lost rent doubles to $6,000 and, with the attorney fee rising to, say, $2,000 for a hearing, the total reaches $10,900. The difference between the two scenarios is almost entirely time. That is the number to keep in mind when you weigh the prevention options below.

How to Estimate Your Own Inputs

The calculator is only as good as the numbers you give it. Gather these before you run it:

• Months lost: add your state’s notice period, the time your court typically takes to schedule a hearing (the clerk can tell you), the enforcement wait, and a realistic turnover gap. Round up.
• Attorney fee: ask two local landlord-tenant attorneys for their flat fee for an uncontested non-payment case and their hourly rate if it is contested.
• Court and enforcement costs: use your court’s published fee schedule and the sheriff’s or marshal’s fee list.
• Repairs and cleaning: start from your last normal turnover and add a margin for a unit that may not have been cared for.
• Re-renting: listing fees, a leasing commission if you use one, and screening costs.

Prevention: Payment Plans and Cash for Keys

Payment plans

When a reliable tenant has a temporary setback (a job change, a medical bill), a written repayment plan often recovers more money than an eviction. Keep it specific: the amount owed, the dates and amounts of each catch-up payment on top of current rent, and what happens if a payment is missed. Before you agree, ask a local attorney whether accepting partial payments affects a notice you have already served; in some states accepting rent can waive or restart the process.

Using the example above: a tenant who owes $1,500 and repays $250 a month on top of rent for six months costs you nothing but patience if the plan holds. If it fails in month three, you have recovered $750 and can still serve notice. Compared with a $6,850 eviction, the expected cost of trying is small. Emergency rental assistance programs, where available, can also cover arrears; point the tenant to them early.

Cash for keys

When the tenancy is not salvageable, offering money for a quick, voluntary move-out frequently beats winning in court. The math is simple: if an eviction would cost $6,850 and take two months, paying $1,000 for the tenant to leave within two weeks, with the unit empty and broom-clean, saves roughly the difference between the two scenarios plus six weeks of turnover time.

• Put it in a signed agreement with a firm move-out date and the condition required.
• Pay at handover, after you confirm the unit is vacant and receive every key.
• State how the security deposit and any unpaid rent will be treated, consistent with your state’s deposit law.
• If a case is already filed, ask your attorney to record the agreement with the court so it can be enforced.

The General Legal Process

Every state uses a court process, and the names differ (unlawful detainer, forcible detainer, summary proceeding, eviction action). The general sequence is similar:

1. Written notice. Serve the notice your state requires for the specific reason: non-payment, lease violation, or end of tenancy. The statute sets the number of days, the required wording and how it must be delivered. Examples for non-payment: three days excluding weekends and judicial holidays in California (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1161), three days excluding weekends and legal holidays in Florida (Fla. Stat. § 83.56(3)), not less than five days in Illinois (735 ILCS 5/9-209), fourteen days in New York (N.Y. RPAPL § 711), and generally at least three days’ notice to vacate in Texas unless the lease says otherwise (Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005).
2. Filing. If the notice period ends without payment or cure, file the complaint in the correct court and pay the filing fee.
3. Service and answer. The tenant is formally served and has a set time to respond or appear.
4. Hearing and judgment. Bring the lease, the notice and proof of service, a rent ledger and any communications. The judge decides possession and, often, the money owed.
5. Enforcement. If the tenant does not leave, the sheriff, marshal or constable enforces the judgment. You may not remove the tenant yourself.
6. After possession. Handle left-behind property as state law requires, document the unit’s condition, and send the itemized deposit statement on time.

Local rules can add steps. Some cities and states require just cause to end a tenancy, add notice requirements, or mandate relocation payments for certain terminations. Never use self-help: changing the locks or cutting utilities to force a tenant out is illegal in most states (Florida, for example, prohibits both under Fla. Stat. § 83.67).

For state-specific detail, see the state legal guides for California, Florida, Illinois, New York and Texas, and the guide to handling problem tenants legally.

Common Mistakes That Make Evictions Cost More

• Waiting. Each week between the missed payment and a correct notice is a week of rent you will probably never collect.
• A defective notice. Wrong amount, wrong number of days, missing required wording or improper delivery can get the case dismissed and send you back to the start.
• Demanding non-rent charges in a rent notice. Some states limit a pay-or-quit notice to rent only; adding late fees or utilities can invalidate it. Check your statute.
• Accepting partial payment without advice. In some states, taking money after serving notice can waive the notice.
• Poor records. Without a signed lease, a rent ledger and dated move-in photos, it is hard to prove the amount owed or the damage claimed. The move-in/move-out inspection checklist and a lease violation documentation system fix this.
• Missing the deposit deadline afterward. An eviction does not suspend your state’s security deposit return and itemization rules.

Where Evictions Fit in a Keep-or-Sell Decision

A costly eviction is a common moment when landlords ask whether to keep the property at all. Before deciding, put the eviction cost into your annual numbers: a $6,850 loss on a property that nets $4,000 a year erases more than a year and a half of profit. If tenant turnover, collections and legal risk are wearing you down, compare holding against selling or exchanging with the keep-or-sell rental property calculator, and review the eviction cost guide and the lease agreement template so the next tenancy starts on firmer ground.

General information, not legal or tax advice. Eviction law is state- and often city-specific and changes frequently. Consult a licensed landlord-tenant attorney in your jurisdiction before serving notice or filing, and a CPA for tax questions.