Louisiana Petition of Eviction

File a petition for eviction including the name of the tenant and the premises address with the appropriate court. If more than one tenant is on the lease, all parties must be served. File a copy of the lease with the petition.

If you have served your tenant with a prior notice of your intent to evict (a 10-day notice to vacate, for instance), the next step in the process if the tenant refuses to leave is to file the Louisiana petition of eviction. It must be filed in the city, town or locality where the property located. You’ll need to contact the court to determine the amount of filing fees.

Who: This form is for your use (the landlord). It does not need to be served to the tenant. Once downloaded, printed and completed, you will need to file it with the appropriate court (in the area where the rental property is located).

What: This is the next step in the eviction process if your tenant has failed to vacate the property after initially being notified. Because this is a legal petition in which you (the landlord) urge the court to allow the eviction process to proceed, it’s important that you include some specific information.

The following must appear in the petition:
• The type of rental agreement (written lease, written agreement, verbal agreement)
• The type of violation (nonpayment of rent, property damage, other)
• If you marked “other”, you’ll need to explain that violation
• Your fulfillment of eviction laws (mark the section that applies) –
• You have a waver of 5-day notice to vacate included in the rental agreement
• You have a copy of the rental agreement attached with the petition
• You’ve provided the tenant with a notice to vacate (hand delivered, mailed with certified receipt, posted on the door)
• A copy is attached to the petition
• The date of filing
• Your signature

When: This petition can only be filed after the waiting period specified in the notice you delivered to your tenant ends. For instance, if you delivered a 10-day notice to your tenant, you cannot file this petition until the 11th following business day (weekends and holidays are not counted).

Resources:
• Sample Louisiana Lease Agreement
• Louisiana’s Law Summary
• Further Reading: Move Out & Eviction Articles

Tips and Tricks for Landlords:

Make sure that you file the petition in the correct area. It should be filed with the court in the area where the rental property is located, not necessarily the one where you (the landlord) live.