Louisiana Eviction Process: 5-Day Notice to Judgment, Step by Step

Short answer: The Louisiana eviction process starts with a written notice to vacate that gives you at least five days under La. C.C.P. art. 4701, though many leases waive that notice entirely. After that, the landlord files a “rule to show cause,” the court can hear it as early as the third day after you are served (art. 4732), and a warrant for possession can issue 24 hours after judgment (art. 4733).

Louisiana is one of the fastest states in the country to lose a home through court, and it uses vocabulary you will not hear elsewhere: lessor and lessee, rule to show cause, warrant for possession. Its eviction rules sit in Title XI of the Code of Civil Procedure, not in a landlord-tenant act. This guide walks through each article in order so you know what each deadline means and where you can push back.

Louisiana Eviction Process at a Glance

Step 1: The Notice to Vacate, and the Lease Clause That Can Erase It

Article 4701 uses one notice for every situation. Whether your lease ended, you missed rent, or the landlord says you broke a rule, the lessor must deliver a written notice to vacate that allows you “not less than five days from the date of its delivery.” Louisiana does not have a separate pay-or-quit notice or a cure-or-quit notice for lease violations, and the article does not give you a statutory right to fix the problem and stay.

The same article lets you waive the notice in a written lease. Many Louisiana forms include that waiver. If yours does, the landlord may “immediately institute eviction proceedings” once your right to occupy ends. Read your lease for phrases like “waives notice to vacate” before you assume you have five days.

Month-to-month and fixed-term leases

For a lease with no fixed term, the termination notice itself counts as the notice to vacate (art. 4701). Under Civil Code art. 2728, a month-to-month lease ends with notice given ten calendar days before the end of the month, a week-to-week lease with five calendar days before the end of the period, and a lease measured in periods longer than a month with thirty calendar days. For a fixed-term lease, the notice to vacate may be given no more than thirty days before the term expires.

Delivery and absent tenants

The notice has to be delivered to you. If the premises are abandoned or closed, or nobody knows where you are, art. 4703 lets notices, process and orders be attached to a door of the premises with the same effect as personal service. Other occupants who are not tenants receive their own notice under art. 4702.

The federal 30-day overlay

If your building has a federally backed mortgage or takes part in a covered federal housing program, the CARES Act provision at 15 U.S.C. § 9058(c) says the lessor may not require you to vacate before 30 days after a notice to vacate. Ask whether your property is covered; it can turn a five-day notice into a defense.

Step 2: The Rule to Show Cause and Which Court Hears It

If you stay past the notice, or if notice was waived, the landlord files a rule to show cause asking the court to order you to deliver possession. Under art. 4731(A), the rule must state the grounds for eviction. Check that the grounds match the notice you received.

Several courts can hear the case. Article 4912 gives a justice of the peace court, within its territory, jurisdiction concurrent with the parish or district court over residential evictions “regardless of the amount of monthly or yearly rent.” City courts and parish courts also hear these cases, so your citation will name the court. Note that a justice of the peace court cannot issue injunctions except to stop or enforce its own writs (art. 4913(C)).

Step 3: Answering and Raising Defenses

Article 4732 sets the trial no earlier than the third day after service and says the court shall “hear any defense which is made.” In practice, you can raise defenses in person at the hearing. But if you might appeal, file a written answer under oath that pleads an affirmative defense. Article 4735 makes a sworn answer a precondition for an appeal that stops the eviction, and you cannot add it after the judgment.

Defenses worth checking in Louisiana:

• Defective or premature notice. Fewer than five days, no written notice, or a notice served more than thirty days before a fixed term ends, with no valid waiver.
• Grounds that do not match. The rule must state the grounds (art. 4731(A)).
• Rent paid or accepted. Bring receipts, bank records and texts showing the landlord took rent after the notice.
• Repairs and defects. The lessor must keep the dwelling suitable for its purpose (Civ. Code art. 2682), and art. 2694 lets you make needed repairs and deduct their price from rent after the lessor fails to act within a reasonable time after demand.
• Discrimination. The Louisiana Equal Housing Opportunity Act, R.S. 51:2606, bars housing discrimination based on protected classes such as race, sex, disability and familial status.
• Federal notice. A covered property that gave only five days instead of thirty.

Louisiana has no general statute that presumes an eviction is retaliatory after you complain. You can still argue the facts, and our landlord retaliation guide explains how to document them.

Step 4: The Hearing and the Judgment

If the court finds the landlord entitled to possession, or if you do not answer or appear, art. 4732(B) says the court “shall render immediately a judgment of eviction.” Missing the hearing almost always means losing. The same paragraph says the judgment stays effective for not less than ninety days, so a landlord who wins does not have to start over if you remain a few weeks.

The eviction title has no pay-and-stay or redemption provision. Paying the full balance before trial is a business decision for the landlord, so get any agreement to dismiss in writing and make sure it is filed with the court.

Step 5: The Warrant for Possession

If you have not left within 24 hours after the judgment, art. 4733 requires the court to “issue immediately” a warrant to the sheriff, constable or marshal. Under art. 4734, that officer executes the warrant in the presence of two witnesses by clearing the premises of any property, and may break open locked doors, windows or gates to get in.

That clearing language matters for your belongings. The articles do not set a storage period for property removed during execution, so move anything important before the officer arrives. Article 4705 also preserves the lessor’s older remedies for seizing furniture found on the premises for rent owed.

Appeals: The 24-Hour Window

Louisiana’s appeal rule is unforgiving. Article 4735 says an appeal does not suspend the eviction unless three things happened: you answered the rule under oath, you pleaded an affirmative defense entitling you to stay, and you applied for the appeal and filed the bond within 24 hours after the judgment. The judge sets the bond at an amount sufficient to protect the landlord against damage caused by the appeal.

An appeal without all three can still go forward, but it will not keep you in the home while it is pending.

Lockouts and Self-Help

The eviction title routes removal through a court judgment and an officer executing a warrant. The one exception is abandonment: under art. 4731(B), after the required notice, a lessor may take possession without further judicial process on a reasonable belief that you abandoned the unit. The article lists signs such as returned keys and removed furnishings.

After a federally declared disaster, art. 4731(C) adds teeth. In an affected parish, leaving the unit is not evidence of abandonment for thirty days after the declaration. A lessor who violates the article owes a residential lessee $500 or twice the monthly rent, whichever is greater, and you may seek a restraining order without posting the usual security during those thirty days.

How Long a Louisiana Eviction Takes

Use our eviction notice timeline to map your own dates.

Worked Example: Danielle in Lafayette

Danielle rents a $1,100 apartment on a month-to-month lease with no waiver clause. She misses the November 1 rent. Her landlord hands her a written notice to vacate on November 4. Article 4701 gives her at least five days, so she cannot be taken to court on a rule until after November 9.

The landlord files a rule to show cause on November 10, and the constable serves Danielle on November 12. Under art. 4732 the hearing can be no earlier than November 15. Danielle files a sworn answer saying the landlord accepted $600 from her on November 6, which she argues waived the notice. If she loses on November 17, she has until November 18 to file a suspensive appeal and bond under art. 4735, and a warrant can issue that same day under art. 4733.

Diversion, Mediation and Help

Title XI of the Code of Civil Procedure (arts. 4701 to 4735) contains no statewide eviction mediation program and no right to appointed counsel. Some local courts and nonprofits run their own programs, so ask the clerk when you are served. Louisiana also has no statute for sealing eviction records; our eviction record sealing guide covers what you can do with a screening report.

If you move out, you are still owed your deposit within one month; see the Louisiana security deposit law guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my Louisiana lease really waive the eviction notice?

Yes. Article 4701 lets a lessee waive the notice to vacate in a written lease. If you signed one, the landlord can file the rule to show cause as soon as your right to occupy ends. The court hearing and the three-day minimum after service still apply.

Does a justice of the peace have power to evict me?

Yes. Under art. 4912, a justice of the peace court can hear residential evictions within its territory no matter how much rent is involved. Its power to issue injunctions is limited by art. 4913(C), which matters if you need an order stopping a lockout.

Is 24 hours really all I get to appeal?

For an appeal that stops the eviction, yes. Article 4735 requires the appeal and bond within 24 hours of judgment, and only after a sworn answer pleading an affirmative defense. Prepare the answer before the hearing.

What happens if I stay after the judgment but the landlord waits?

The judgment stays effective for at least ninety days under art. 4732(B). The landlord can ask for the warrant during that window without filing a new case.

My parish just had a hurricane. Can the landlord treat my unit as abandoned?

Not for the first thirty days after the federal disaster declaration. Article 4731(C) says leaving the unit is not evidence of abandonment during that period, and a violation entitles you to $500 or twice the monthly rent, whichever is greater.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. If you have been served with a rule to show cause, contact legal aid today through the LSC Get Legal Help page, and write your sworn answer before your hearing date. For more states, see the eviction process by state hub.

Sources

• La. C.C.P. art. 4701, notice to vacate; waiver
• La. C.C.P. art. 4703, service when premises abandoned
• La. C.C.P. art. 4731, rule to show cause; abandonment; disasters
• La. C.C.P. art. 4732, trial of rule; judgment
• La. C.C.P. art. 4733, warrant for possession
• La. C.C.P. art. 4734, execution of warrant
• La. C.C.P. art. 4735, appeal and bond
• La. C.C.P. art. 4912, justice of the peace eviction jurisdiction
• La. C.C.P. art. 4913, limits on justice of the peace courts
• La. Civ. Code art. 2728, notice of termination
• La. Civ. Code art. 2682, lessor’s obligations
• La. R.S. 51:2606, Equal Housing Opportunity Act
• 15 U.S.C. § 9058, CARES Act notice to vacate
• Legal Services Corporation, Get Legal Help