A Tennessee eviction costs roughly $370 to $600 in direct court and enforcement fees if you handle it yourself, but the full cost to evict someone in Tennessee usually lands between $1,500 and $5,000 once you add attorney fees, lost rent during the process, and cleanup afterward. The spread is wide because the price depends on whether the tenant contests, whether they appeal, and how long the unit sits empty.
What You Pay the Court and the Sheriff
Every eviction moves through the same stages, and each one carries its own fee.
Before you file anything, you have to serve written notice. Certified mail with return receipt through USPS runs about $5 to $10. A private process server costs more, typically $85 to $200, but gives you in-person delivery with professional documentation. The notice itself is a simple letter and costs nothing to prepare.
If the tenant doesn’t leave or cure the problem by the deadline, you file a detainer warrant in General Sessions Court.1Justia. Tennessee Code 29-18-112 – Form of Warrant Filing fees vary by county because each county sets its own clerk fees and litigation taxes. In Davidson County (Nashville), the total is $145.75 as of 2026, which bundles the clerk fee, sheriff service, and litigation tax into one payment.2Circuit Court Clerk, Nashville. General Sessions Civil Division Filing Fees Effective January 1, 2026 Across the state, expect $140 to $200. Each additional defendant named on the warrant adds roughly $50 for the sheriff to serve that person.
The sheriff charges $50 for in-person service of the warrant, $10 for service by mail, plus a $2 data processing fee.3Justia. Tennessee Code 8-21-901 – Sheriffs and Constables – Specific Fees Authorized The hearing can’t be scheduled until at least six days after the tenant receives the warrant.
If you win and the tenant still doesn’t leave, you need a writ of possession authorizing the sheriff to remove them. The court’s issuing fee for the writ varies by county and generally falls in the $25 to $85 range. The sheriff then charges another $50 to actually execute it.
After the sheriff puts you back in possession, you’ll want the locks changed. A standard residential rekey runs $100 to $200.
Attorney Fees
You don’t need a lawyer for a Tennessee eviction, and many landlords handle straightforward nonpayment cases themselves in General Sessions Court. If the tenant is likely to contest or raise counterclaims, an attorney reduces the risk of procedural mistakes that can delay or dismiss the case.
Tennessee attorneys commonly charge $138 to $452 per hour for civil matters, with an average around $281. For an uncontested eviction that wraps up in a single hearing, some attorneys offer flat fees in the $500 to $1,500 range. Contested cases, where the tenant raises habitability defenses, claims retaliation, or requests continuances, usually switch to hourly billing and run considerably higher.
Tennessee follows the American Rule: each side pays its own attorney fees regardless of who wins. The main exception is a lease clause awarding fees to the prevailing party. If your lease has one, the court can order the losing tenant to reimburse your legal costs as part of the judgment. Without it, you absorb those fees even when you win.
Lost Rent, Cleaning, and Repairs
The biggest expense in most evictions isn’t any single court fee. It’s the rent you aren’t collecting while the legal process runs its course. A typical Tennessee eviction takes four to eight weeks from the initial notice through enforcement, and that timeline assumes nothing goes wrong. Add a contested hearing, a continuance, or an appeal, and the property can sit without income for several months.
You’re still paying the mortgage, insurance, property taxes, and maintenance the whole time. For a unit renting at $1,200 a month, a six-week eviction represents roughly $1,800 in lost revenue before any legal fees. You also have a duty to mitigate damages, meaning you need to make reasonable efforts to re-rent the unit once it’s vacant.4Justia. Tennessee Code 66-28-515 – Administration of Remedies – Enforcement
Once the tenant is out, cleaning and repairs vary dramatically. A professional deep clean of a standard two-bedroom unit runs $200 to $400. Damage repairs beyond normal wear can range from a few hundred dollars to well over $5,000. Your security deposit provides a cushion. Tennessee law lets you apply the deposit toward unpaid rent and physical damage beyond ordinary wear, and any damage you want to deduct must be documented within 30 days of the tenant vacating or seven days of a new tenant moving in, whichever comes first.5Justia. Tennessee Code 66-28-301 – Security Deposits
What Pushes the Cost Higher
Three things reliably drive the total above the baseline.
A contested hearing. If the tenant shows up with defenses or counterclaims, the single-hearing flat fee goes away. Hourly billing takes over, continuances add weeks, and lost rent keeps accruing.
An appeal. A tenant who loses in General Sessions can appeal to Circuit Court within 10 days.6Justia. Tennessee Code 29-18-128 – Appeal The case gets a new trial, and Circuit Court filing fees run roughly $260 to $330 depending on the county.7Circuit Court Clerk, Nashville. Circuit Court Filing Fees Effective January 1, 2026 To proceed, the tenant has to post a bond, cash deposit, or letter of credit equal to one full year’s rent, which filters out many appeals. If you’re the one appealing, the required bond doubles.8Justia. Tennessee Code 29-18-130 – Immediate Execution of Writ of Possession – Bond, Cash Deposit, or Letter of Credit Pending Appeal An appeal routinely pushes the total past $5,000 before counting lost income.
Storing the tenant’s property. Tennessee doesn’t let you dump belongings on the curb on eviction day. You must store the tenant’s possessions for at least 30 days so they can reclaim them. If they don’t, you can sell or dispose of the items and apply the proceeds toward unpaid rent, damages, storage fees, sale costs, and attorney fees, with any surplus held for an additional six months.9FindLaw. Tennessee Code 66-28-405 – Abandoned Property A small self-storage unit runs roughly $50 to $150 per month. On-site storage saves cash but carries liability for anything that gets damaged. Cutting the 30-day period short exposes you to claims that can exceed whatever you saved.
Typical Cost Breakdown
For a standard uncontested eviction handled without an attorney:
- Notice delivery (certified mail): $5–$10
- Court filing fee: $140–$200
- Sheriff service of warrant: $50–$52
- Writ of possession (court fee plus sheriff execution): $75–$135
- Lock change: $100–$200
- Total without an attorney: roughly $370–$600
- Attorney flat fee (uncontested): add $500–$1,500
- Lost rent (4–8 weeks): varies by rental rate
- Cleaning and repairs: $200–$5,000+
Getting Any of It Back
Tennessee law directs the court to award you the costs of the lawsuit when you prevail, and the judge is required to calculate back rent, interest, and damages the tenant owes and enter a judgment for that amount.10FindLaw. Tennessee Code 29-18-125 – Judgment for Rent, Interest, and Damages Filing fees and service costs get rolled into what the tenant legally owes you, and if your lease has a prevailing-party fee clause, attorney fees get added too.
Getting a judgment and collecting on it are two different things. Tenants who couldn’t pay rent often can’t pay a judgment either. The practical rule: budget as if you’ll absorb the full cost yourself, and treat anything you recover from the tenant or the security deposit as a reduction rather than a reimbursement. Landlords who plan only around the filing fee tend to underestimate the true cost by a wide margin.