As a tenant, knowing your rights is critical. You may be protected from certain types of evictions, and you may be able to prevent an eviction by fixing the issue identified in an eviction notice. The key is to act quickly—do not ignore notices or court papers, and seek legal help as soon as possible. Evictions can move fast, and you could lose a court case automatically if you take too long to act.

• You can only be evicted by a court order. It is illegal for a landlord to lock you out, shut off your utilities, or remove your things to force you out. Only a Sheriff, a Marshal, or their deputies may evict you, and only with a court order. Your landlord can only get a court order by starting an eviction case (also called an “unlawful detainer”).

• Your landlord must first give you a written eviction notice. Before your landlord can start an eviction case against you, they must give you a written notice stating why they want to evict you and how much time you have to do what they ask or move out. Your landlord cannot start an eviction case until the deadline in the notice has passed. The notice must be either (1) given to you in person; (2) given to another adult in your home and mailed to you; or (3) posted on your home and mailed to you. Just an email or text message, or verbal notice, is not enough.

• Read the notice carefully. Some notices give you an opportunity to pay money owed or to fix a problem. These are called “pay or quit” or “perform or quit” notices because they give you the option of fixing the problem or “quitting” (meaning, moving out) before a deadline. Other notices only give you a deadline to move out. If you don’t move out or fix the problem before the deadline, your landlord can start an eviction case, meaning they can ask a judge to order you to move out and possibly pay your landlord money. Here are some common types of notices: