To evict a family member in Delaware, you have to treat them the way the law already treats them: as a tenant. That means written notice (60 days in the typical case), a Complaint for Summary Possession filed in Justice of the Peace Court, mandatory mediation through the state’s eviction diversion program, a hearing, and a 10-day wait before a constable can carry out the removal. Start to finish, plan on three to four months.
Delaware’s Landlord-Tenant Code applies to written and oral arrangements alike, so a relative who moved in without a lease and never paid rent still has tenant protections once they’ve established the home as their residence.1Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 25 Chapter 51 Subchapter I – Property When nothing is written down, the arrangement defaults to a month-to-month tenancy, and that classification sets the notice period you’ll owe before you can file anything.2Justia. Delaware Code Title 25 5106 – Rental Agreement Term and Termination of Rental Agreement
Don’t Change the Locks
Shutting off utilities, changing the locks while your relative is out, or putting their belongings on the porch is illegal in Delaware. The statute calls it an unlawful ouster, and your relative can sue you for triple their actual damages or triple the daily rental value for each day they were locked out, whichever is greater, plus court costs.3Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 25 Chapter 53 – Landlord Obligations and Tenant Remedies
This is the single most common way people trying to remove a relative turn themselves into defendants. The frustration is real; the legal exposure is worse. Every path to getting them out runs through the Justice of the Peace Court.
The Written Notice You Owe First
Before you can file anything, you have to deliver the right written notice and wait out the period. Which notice depends on the situation.
60-Day Notice (The Usual Family Case)
For a month-to-month occupant with no fixed end date and no rent dispute, you must give at least 60 days’ written notice terminating the arrangement. The 60 days don’t start the day you hand them the notice. They start the first day of the following month.2Justia. Delaware Code Title 25 5106 – Rental Agreement Term and Termination of Rental Agreement Hand notice to your cousin on March 15 and the clock starts April 1, which means the tenancy ends at the end of May. Deliver on the last day of a month if you can; mid-month delivery just adds time.
5-Day Notice for Unpaid Rent
If your relative agreed to contribute rent and has fallen behind, the notice can be shorter: at least 5 days to pay the amount owed or leave. The notice must state the specific dollar amount. If they don’t pay in those 5 days, you can file.4Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 25 Chapter 55 – Tenant Obligations and Landlord Remedies – Section 5502
7-Day Notice for a Breach
If the problem is property damage, disruptive behavior, or a violation of a household rule you both agreed to, you must give at least 7 days’ written notice that describes the specific issue and allows time to fix it. If the behavior continues past 7 days, you can terminate and file. When the breach causes or threatens irreparable harm to a person or to property, the 7-day cure period doesn’t apply and you can terminate immediately.5Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 25 Chapter 55 – Tenant Obligations and Landlord Remedies – Section 5513
What Every Notice Has to Contain
Any notice should include the full legal name of each adult you want to remove, the complete property address, the specific reason for termination, and the date. A notice that leaves out an adult occupant or miscounts the time period gives your relative grounds to challenge it in court and can reset the entire timeline. Fillable templates are available through the Delaware Courts.6Delaware Courts. Delaware Courts Forms Keep proof of how and when you delivered the notice.
Filing for Summary Possession
Once the notice period runs out and your relative is still there, file a Complaint for Summary Possession in the Justice of the Peace Court for the county where the property sits.7Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 25 Chapter 57 – Summary Possession You can file electronically or in person. The filing fee is $45.8Delaware Courts. Justice of the Peace Court Civil Fees Attach a copy of the notice you served. The court will schedule a hearing and send a constable to serve the summons on your relative; the case can’t move forward until that service is complete.
Mandatory Eviction Diversion and Mediation
After filing, you are required to participate in Delaware’s residential eviction diversion program. The court will not hold your hearing until you’ve gone through mediation with your relative or they’ve failed to show up. You also have to file a Landlord’s Affidavit of Participation at least 5 days before the scheduled hearing, or the court can dismiss your complaint or reschedule the hearing.9Delaware Courts. Delaware Courts – Landlord/Tenant – Justice of the Peace Court
The program pairs your relative with a HUD-certified housing counselor who walks through available resources before mediation. If both sides reach an agreement, the court can formalize it and skip the trial. If your relative doesn’t register and engage within 15 days of being served, mediation lapses and the case proceeds to a hearing. The only landlords exempt from this step are those dealing with irreparable-harm situations or certain immediate-termination scenarios.10Justia. Delaware Code Title 25 5702A – Residential Eviction Diversion Program
In family cases, mediation often does more than check a procedural box. A neutral setting can produce a workable exit agreement that months of arguing at home didn’t.
The Hearing
At the hearing, a Justice of the Peace decides whether you’ve established the grounds for possession: that you own or have the right to control the property, that your relative received proper notice, and that the notice period has run.7Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 25 Chapter 57 – Summary Possession
Bring the deed or title, a copy of the notice with proof of delivery, any texts or emails relevant to the arrangement, records of any rent payments or agreements, and photos if damage is part of your case. Organized evidence beats emotional testimony. Your relative gets a chance to answer and raise defenses. A ruling in your favor produces a judgment for possession, but no one leaves that day.
Defenses Your Relative Might Raise
Family cases get complicated because the occupant knows the household. A few defenses come up often enough to prepare for.
Retaliation
If your relative complained to a code enforcement agency, reported you to a government authority, or exercised a housing-related legal right within the past 90 days, the court will presume your eviction is retaliatory. You can overcome that presumption, but you’ll need an independent, legitimate reason: recovering the home for your own personal use, undertaking substantial renovations, or permanently removing the unit from the rental market for at least six months.11Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 25 Chapter 55 – Section 5516 Retaliatory Acts Prohibited
Domestic Violence Protections
Delaware protects tenants who are victims of domestic abuse, sexual offenses, or stalking. A landlord cannot evict a tenant who has sought help from a court, police, or a domestic violence program over any of these issues. If your relative has a protective order or has sought DV services and you file within 90 days of a related incident, the court presumes your action violates the statute. These protections apply even though you own the property.12Delaware General Assembly. Delaware Code Title 25 5316 – Protection for Victims of Domestic Abuse, Sexual Offenses and Stalking If domestic violence sits anywhere in the background of your situation, talk to an attorney before you file.
Defective Notice
The most common defense in any eviction case is that the notice itself was wrong. A missing adult name, the wrong address, 55 days instead of 60, a vague description of a breach: any of these can get the complaint dismissed and send you back to redraft and reserve.
After You Win: The Writ and the Constable
The court will not issue a Writ of Possession until 10 days after judgment.13Delaware Courts. How To File and Defend a Summary Possession Action in the Justice of the Peace Court That window exists partly to allow for an appeal. Once you have the writ, a court constable, not you, handles the physical removal. The constable gives your relative a final deadline, and if they’re still there, the constable oversees the lockout and secures the property.
If belongings are left behind, you have to store them at your relative’s expense for at least 7 days. After 7 days without reclaim and reimbursement for reasonable removal and storage costs, the items are considered abandoned and you can dispose of them.14Justia. Delaware Code Title 25 5715 – Execution of Judgment Writ of Possession Dumping their things on day one exposes you to the same treble-damages liability as an unlawful lockout. Seven days of storage is cheap by comparison.
Appeals
Either side can appeal to a three-judge panel of Justices of the Peace, and the window is short: 5 days from the judgment.15Delaware Courts. Delaware Courts – Justice of the Peace Court Appeals If your relative appeals and posts the required bond, the eviction pauses until the panel rules. The panel reviews the evidence independently, so you’ll present your case again. Appeals stay inside the Justice of the Peace system rather than moving up to the Court of Common Pleas.
How Long This Actually Takes
For the common scenario, a month-to-month relative who doesn’t pay rent, here is what each stage adds:
- 60-day notice period, running from the first of the month after delivery, so effectively 60 to 90 days.
- Filing and service of the summons by a constable: a few days to a couple of weeks.
- Eviction diversion program: your relative has 15 days after service to engage, and mediation must be completed at least 48 hours before trial.
- Hearing: scheduled after mediation is complete or the tenant has failed to participate.
- 10-day post-judgment wait before the Writ of Possession issues.
- Constable execution: typically a few additional days.
From the day you hand over notice to the day you get the house back, three to four months is realistic in a clean case. A contested hearing, an appeal, or a stalled mediation can stretch it longer. Knowing the full runway at the start keeps each waiting period from feeling like a setback.