• Rent Grace Period: No statute.
• Non-Payment of Rent: 7 days.^[1]
• Non-Compliance: 30 days.^[2]
• Illegal Activity: 24 hours.^[3]
• Substantial Damage to Property: 7 days.^[4]
• Termination (Month-to-Month Lease): 1 month.^[2]
• Filing an Eviction: Summary Proceedings to Recover Possession of Premises.^[5]

Utility Shutoff – Landlords are legally prohibited from causing the termination or interruption of essential services for a tenant, including heat, running water, hot water, electric or gas service.^[6]

Changing the Locks – Landlords are legally prohibited from changing, altering, or adding to the locks without immediately providing keys or unlocking devices to the tenant.^[7]

Complaint (DC 102c) – This document begins the eviction process and is filed at the district court by the landlord.

Summons (DC 104) – When a complaint has been filed against a tenant, that tenant must be served this summons.

Application and Order of Eviction (DC 107) – If a tenant has not moved out within 10 days of a judgment against them, the landlord must use this form to apply for their eviction and ask the sheriff’s department to physically remove them.

Answer for Non-Payment of Rent (DC 111a) – A tenant who has received a summons for eviction due to non-payment of rent must file this form with the court if they wish to appear at the hearing.

Answer for Health/Hazard to Property (DC 111b) – Tenants that have been given notice for severe damage to the property or presenting a health hazard must file this form if they wish to answer the charges.

Answer to Complaint to Recover Possession of Property (DC 111c) – If the eviction is due to any other breach of the lease, the tenant will need to use this form if they wish to contest the eviction action in court.

Before eviction proceedings can begin in court, you must provide one of the following notices to the tenant. You may seek eviction if the tenant fails to pay the rent, breaches the contract, engages in illegal drug activity, or holds over on a lease after being asked to move out.

• 24-Hour Notice to Quit (Illegal Drug-Related Use)
• 7-Day Notice to Quit (Non-Payment)
• 7-Day Notice to Quit (Non-Compliance)
• 30-Day Notice to Quit (Month to Month)

After the tenant has received the requisite notice and doesn’t respond appropriately to the notice by either curing or moving out, the landlord may seek redress in court. The first step is to go to the District Court representing the area in which the property in question is located.

You will then file a Summon (DC 104) and Complaint (DC 102c) with the court, pay the fee (the amount depends on the court), and provide a copy of the notice you sent and the lease if there is one.

The filing fee for an eviction is $45. The following additional fees apply depending on the claim amount:^[8]

• $25 for claims up to $600
• $45 for claims between $600 and $1,750
• $65 for claims between $1,750 and $10,000
• $150 for claims over $10,000

The court will issue a summons to the tenant, asking them to appear in court within 10 days. The tenant may file one of the following Answer Forms:

• Answer for Non-Payment of Rent (DC 111a)
• Answer for Health/Hazard to Property (DC 111b)
• Answer to Complaint to Recover Possession of Property (DC 111c)

If the tenant does not show up and/or there is a judgment in favor of the landlord, the tenant will have 10 days to vacate the premises.

If the tenant does not vacate within that time period, the landlord will then have to apply to the court for a Writ of Eviction (DC 107), whereby the landlord indicates that there has been a judgment in his or her favor, but the tenant has not complied, and so the landlord is now seeking authorization for the sheriff to physically remove the tenant from the premises.