Louisiana - Eviction - How Can I Tell If I Have A Defense?

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Housing Justice Network (Separate
What does a Notice to Vacate mean? Website)
A. A Notice to Vacate is a paper written by the landlord

that tells you that you should get out of his apartment
Practical Advice on Housing Law
(Separate Website)
in a certain number of days. It can come from the By: American Bar Association
landlord or a constable, marshal or sheriff.
Flood and Fire Victims' Rights as
A Notice to Vacate means your landlord plans to file a Tenants
lawsuit for your eviction if you don't move out by the By: Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (New
end of the notice period. Orleans office)
A Notice to Vacate is not a court order to move out. more...

Your landlord cannot get a court order for eviction until
there has been a trial before a judge. You have a right
to present your defenses, if any, to the judge in court.
Q. What should I do about a Notice to Vacate?

A. If you get a Notice to Vacate, you should decide
quickly what to do. If you want to stay, you should
first try to work out a deal with the landlord. Some
landlords just want their rent paid. If you can get one,
a lawyer may be able to help you work out a deal.
You need to figure out whether you have any
http://www.lawhelp.org/LA/showdocument.cfm/County/%20/City/%20/demoMode/=%20... 3/31/2011
defenses. If you don't have a good eviction defense,

you should move. You need to find a new apartment
before your landlord can get a court order evicting
you.
Warning: The eviction trial could be heard as early as

the third day after the end of the Notice to Vacate
period. If your lease waives (gives up) your right to a
Notice to Vacate, you won't get a Notice to Vacate.
Instead, your first notice may be the eviction lawsuit
(called a Rule for Possession). The Rule for
Possession may only give you 2 days' notice of your
eviction trial.
After the time in your Notice to Vacate has run out,

your landlord can file a "Rule for Possession." A Rule
for Possession is a lawsuit asking the court to evict
you. The Rule for Possession will tell you why the
landlord wants you to be evicted and when the trial
date is.
If possible, talk to a lawyer about whether you can

stop the eviction. Don't wait until you get the Rule for
Possession. Call a lawyer as soon as you get the Notice
to Vacate.
Defenses to a 10-day "no cause" eviction are limited.

The most common defenses are that the notice was
less than 10 days or that your landlord accepted the
rent after he gave you the Notice to Vacate.
If you have a written lease or live in subsidized

housing, you may have other defenses to the eviction.
You should talk to a lawyer as soon as possible. Most
subsidized housing tenants will be eligible for a free
legal aid lawyer.
For other important information, read the other

LawHelp resources on this site in the Housing topic
area and under the heading called "Evictions."
Q. What are defenses to an eviction? How can I tell

if I have a defense?
A. First, you need to figure out why your landlord is

evicting you. Look at the Notice to Vacate and the
Rule for Possession. By law, they must state the
reasons for your eviction.
The most common reasons for an eviction are:
z no reason or that the landlord/owner wants

possession;
z nonpayment of rent;
z violation of the lease;
z the lease has ended and you did not move out.
An eviction may be delayed if the landlord gave the

wrong notice or did not wait long enough after the
Notice to Vacate to bring the eviction. These mistakes
by the landlord may delay an eviction for several days
to several weeks, depending on the facts in your case.
Evictions for "no reason" require 10 days' notice.

Evictions for nonpayment of rent or lease violations
generally require 5 days' notice.
Other defenses to an eviction vary depending on the

type of eviction. See the information below.
Q. What are some possible defenses to a 10-day

eviction (owner wants possession)?
A. Many Louisiana tenants are "month-to-month"

tenants. As a rule of thumb, if you (1) don't have a
written lease or (2) don't live in subsidized housing,
you are probably a month-to-month tenant.
A landlord can evict a month-to-month tenant for no

reason by giving 10 days' written notice before the end
of the rental month. The defenses to 10-day evictions
are limited.
Possible defenses to 10-day evictions are:
z inadequate Notice to Vacate (less than 10 days

before the end of rental month or period);
z acceptance of rent after the Notice to Vacate,
but before the eviction judgment;
z a 10-day eviction is not allowed because you
have a lease that has not ended or you live in
public housing or certain subsidized housing;
z retaliation for complaining to the government;
z unlawful housing discrimination.
You should be aware that retaliation and discrimination

defenses are difficult to prove. For a discrimination
defense, you must have proof that the landlord is
evicting you because of your race, sex, family or
handicapped status. It is generally better to fight a
discriminatory eviction through a lawsuit against the
landlord rather than waiting to defend a landlord's
eviction. You should immediately call a lawyer who
handles housing discrimination cases if you think you
have been discriminated against.
Q. Are there any defenses to an eviction for

nonpayment of rent?
A. Yes. The best defense is that you paid the rent and
have receipts or canceled checks to prove it.
Other possible defenses include:
z You made a timely offer to pay the rent, but

your landlord refused to accept the rent.
z Your landlord took your rent after the Notice to
Vacate, but before the eviction judgment.
z You properly used the repair and deduct remedy
to make repairs to your apartment that the
landlord refused to make.
z Your landlord had a custom of accepting rent
late, your landlord did not tell you that he would
no longer accept late payments, and you paid
within the customary period.
z You tried to pay, but the landlord did not
receive the rent, and you paid the rent as soon
as you knew about the problem.
z Public housing tenants may have the defense of
"rent abatement" if serious defects were not
repaired by the housing authority after proper
notice. "Rent abatement" means that the rent is
not owed.
Q. What are the defenses to an eviction for a lease

violation?
A. To evict you , the landlord must prove that you

violated the lease section stated in his lawsuit. For
fairness, the landlord's proof is limited to the lease
violations the landlord stated in his lawsuit. You should
object to the judge if the landlord tries to bring up new
violations at the trial.
Look at the landlord's law suit and your lease. Did you
really violate the lease? Is the landlord's interpretation
of the lease or the evidence wrong? Does the landlord
have enough proof through documents and witnesses
to prove a lease violation?
Some leases may require that the landlord give you a

warning and time to correct certain rule or lease
violations before the landlord can bring an eviction.
Check your lease.
Under the law, a judge should not evict you unless

there is strong proof of a serious lease violation.
Generally, you should not be evicted for a minor lease
violation.
Have you stopped a prior eviction lawsuit for a lease

violation by your landlord? If you have, your landlord's
current eviction may be barred by the doctrine of "res
judicata." Res judicata means that the case has
already been decided and cannot be brought again. If
your landlord has brought a second lawsuit for the
same lease violation, or for violations that could have
been brought at the time of the landlord's first lawsuit,
you should state in your answer that the
landlord's lawsuit is barred by the judgment in the
prior (earlier) lawsuit.
Finally, a judge may deny an eviction even if there is a

lease violation. Your answer should specifically ask the
judge to exercise the judge's "equitable discretion" to
deny an eviction. At the trial, you should explain to the
judge why fairness or justice require that the eviction
be denied. This defense works best when the lease
violation is relatively insignificant, did not hurt the
landlord, was not intended or was beyond your control,
and you tried to comply with the lease.
Q. Can I delay an eviction if my lease has ended?
A. There are few defenses to an eviction where your lease

has ended and you have not moved out.
One of the only defenses would be that the landlord

has failed to give you a 5-day Notice to Vacate, or that
the landlord brought the eviction before the time given
in the Notice to Vacate ran out. These defenses will
not stop an eviction. They will only delay the eviction
for a short period.
A fixed term lease, typically a 6 month or 1 year lease,

may be extended on a month-to-month basis if
you continue to live there for a week without any
objection by the landlord.
You should be aware that many leases will impose

severe penalties on tenants who do not move out
at the end of the lease. For example, you may have to
pay the landlord 2 to 5 times the daily rent for every
day that you stay after the lease is over.
Q. How do I stop the eviction if I have defenses?
A. File a written "verified answer" to the Rule for

Possession with the Clerk's office (or the justice of the
peace) before the trial begins. A "verified answer"
must state your defenses and must include a notarized
affidavit by you swearing that the statements in your
answer are true. Your answer should also deny any
incorrect statements made by the landlord in his Rule

for Possession.
If possible, your answer should include a defense that

would give you the right to stay in your apartment
even if the landlord's claims were true. The judge's
equitable discretion not to cancel the lease should be
listed in your answer.
Sample answers to the most common evictions can be

found in the self-help forms that come with this
LawHelp question and answer item.
Be ready either to pay the court costs for your answer

or to ask the court for a "waiver" of the court costs.
Find out in advance if there are any court costs to file
your answer.
Many justice of the peace courts do not charge tenants

court fees for their answers. However, parish and city
courts generally charge tenants for an answer to an
eviction.
If you cannot afford the costs, ask the court to allow

you to file your answer for free. To do so, you must file
a notarized Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis.
You will also need to get a friend or relative to sign an
affidavit saying that you cannot afford the court costs.
For more information on how to get the court costs

waived, see our LawHelp item called "In Forma
Pauperis -- When You Can't Afford Court Costs."
To stop your eviction, you must go to the trial and

present your defenses.
Be on time for your trial. And have your witnesses

and papers that support your defense with you.
Q. What happens at the trial?
A. Your landlord and you will be sworn in as witnesses.
At the trial, the landlord should tell the judge what

notice he gave you and why he wants you evicted.
Before anything else happens, you should tell the

judge if you think the landlord's notice was defective.
This is the time to tell the judge if the landlord:
z did not give you enough notice, or;

z accepted your rent after the Notice to Vacate,
or;
z filed his Rule for Possession before the time in
the Notice to Vacate ended.
If the judge finds that the landlord's notice was

defective, he should dismiss the eviction and make
your landlord start the eviction process all over.
If the landlord's notice is OK, testimony and argument

on the eviction should begin.
If you failed to pay rent, the landlord will simply testify

that you did not pay the rent or that you did not pay it
on time. If the eviction is for a lease violation, the
landlord and his witnesses will testify as to facts that
support the lease violation.
You have the right to ask the landlord and his

witnesses questions that help show that the landlord's
claim or story is wrong. You can also ask them
questions that help support your defenses or your
story of what happened. This is called "cross-
examination."
After the landlord has completed his case, it is your

turn to put on your case. This is the time to speak up
for yourself and your family. Don't be bullied or
railroaded into silence by the judge. You have the right
to testify as to facts that will support your defenses.
You may have witnesses testify on your behalf. You
may submit papers that help prove your case.
It is easy to get nervous at a trial. So, before the trial,

you should make a short list of all the important facts
that support the defenses that you claimed in your
written answer. Before you quit, make sure you or
your witnesses have told the judge about each of the
facts that support your defenses. Also make sure that
you have submitted any papers to the judge that
support your case.
If you have a lease, you should always bring the

original and 2 copies to the trial. Believe it or not,
many landlords do not bring a copy of the lease to the
trial. If this happens, it may be because your landlord
thinks the lease will hurt his case or require the judge
to rule in your favor. If the case involves a lease
violation, a copy of the lease should be given to the
judge.
In most evictions, the judge makes his decision at the

end of the trial and in the presence of the landlord and
you. If he rules in the landlord's favor, he will sign a
judgment ordering your eviction. If he rules in your
favor, you should ask him for a written judgment
dismissing the eviction.
If the judge does not decide the case on the spot, you
should know how you will be told about his judgment
once it is made. Do not leave the court without
knowing how you will get the judgment. This is
important because you only have 24 hours to appeal a

judgment.
Warning: If you do not appear for your trial, the

judge will rule in your landlord's favor and order you
evicted. Be on time for your trial.
Q. What if I lose at trial?
A. You can be evicted as early as 24 hours after the

judgment.
If you filed a verified answer, you have the right to

stop the eviction by filing an appeal within 24 hours of
the judgment. To get your appeal, you must also file
an appeal bond. A higher court will review your appeal
and decide whether the trial judge was right or wrong.
If you timely filed your appeal and bond, you can stay
in your apartment until the appeal is decided by the
higher court.
For more information on how to appeal, see the

LawHelp item called "How to Appeal an Eviction."
Last Reviewed On: 11/20/08
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LawHelp State Frequently Asked Questions Page 1 of 11

LawHelp.Org/LA is Administered by Southeast Louisiana Legal Services

LawHelp/LA Home Page > Housing > Evictions Print Close

Live Chat by LivePerson

A. A Notice to Vacate is a paper written by the landlord

A Notice to Vacate is not a court order to move out. more...

Q. What should I do about a Notice to Vacate?

You need to figure out whether you have any

defenses. If you don't have a good eviction defense,

Warning: The eviction trial could be heard as early as

After the time in your Notice to Vacate has run out,

If possible, talk to a lawyer about whether you can

Defenses to a 10-day "no cause" eviction are limited.

If you have a written lease or live in subsidized

For other important information, read the other

Q. What are defenses to an eviction? How can I tell

A. First, you need to figure out why your landlord is

The most common reasons for an eviction are:

z no reason or that the landlord/owner wants

An eviction may be delayed if the landlord gave the

Evictions for "no reason" require 10 days' notice.

Other defenses to an eviction vary depending on the

Q. What are some possible defenses to a 10-day

A. Many Louisiana tenants are "month-to-month"

A landlord can evict a month-to-month tenant for no

Possible defenses to 10-day evictions are:

z inadequate Notice to Vacate (less than 10 days

You should be aware that retaliation and discrimination

Q. Are there any defenses to an eviction for

Other possible defenses include:

z You made a timely offer to pay the rent, but

Q. What are the defenses to an eviction for a lease

A. To evict you , the landlord must prove that you

Some leases may require that the landlord give you a

Under the law, a judge should not evict you unless

Have you stopped a prior eviction lawsuit for a lease

Finally, a judge may deny an eviction even if there is a

Q. Can I delay an eviction if my lease has ended?

A. There are few defenses to an eviction where your lease

One of the only defenses would be that the landlord

A fixed term lease, typically a 6 month or 1 year lease,

You should be aware that many leases will impose

Q. How do I stop the eviction if I have defenses?

A. File a written "verified answer" to the Rule for

incorrect statements made by the landlord in his Rule

If possible, your answer should include a defense that

Sample answers to the most common evictions can be

Be ready either to pay the court costs for your answer

Many justice of the peace courts do not charge tenants

If you cannot afford the costs, ask the court to allow

For more information on how to get the court costs

To stop your eviction, you must go to the trial and

Be on time for your trial. And have your witnesses

Q. What happens at the trial?

A. Your landlord and you will be sworn in as witnesses.

At the trial, the landlord should tell the judge what

Before anything else happens, you should tell the

z did not give you enough notice, or;

the Notice to Vacate ended.

If the judge finds that the landlord's notice was

If the landlord's notice is OK, testimony and argument

If you failed to pay rent, the landlord will simply testify