How to Evict a Tenant in Nebraska (6 Steps)
Chapter 69 and Chapter 76 of the Nebraska Revised Statutes lay out the full terms of eviction proceedings, including all steps landlords need to take to legally evict a tenant from the rental property.
Step 1 – Serve the Appropriate Notice
Before you can file an eviction complaint with the court, you will need to start the Nebraska eviction notice process by informing the tenant of the actions they have taken to violate the lease agreement and whether they have the opportunity to remedy those actions.
The correct type of notice will depend on what violation the tenant has committed and what actions the landlord wants the tenant to take. In the case of unpaid rent, the landlord needs to issue a 7-day notice to quit. The tenant will then have seven calendar days to remedy the situation.
On the other hand, if the tenant has committed a lease violation, the landlord issues a 14-day notice to quit, which will give the tenant 14 days to take care of the lease violation.
Once the notice has been served, the landlord must wait for the tenant to remedy the violation. If the tenant fails to remedy the violation, whether that means taking care of unpaid rent or fixing a lease violation on the property, the landlord can move forward with further legal action.
Timeline
The time frame from the issuance of the Notice to Vacate/Quit to the actual move-out typically ranges from 7 to 30 days.
Step 2 – File a Complaint With the Court
After the notice period has passed, if the tenant has not taken care of any needed remedies, the landlord will need to file a complaint with the court.
The complaint will detail the violation committed by the tenant, the notice given by the landlord, and the tenant’s lack of response. The landlord can expect to pay a filing fee with the court at the time they file the complaint.
Step 3 – Tenant Summons
According to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1442, the court will issue a summons to the tenant, which must be served within three days of the summons being issued.
The summons, along with a copy of the complaint, must be served by someone who is not part of the case, and according to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-505.01, it must be served by either personal service to the tenant, leaving a copy of the summons with someone on the premises of a suitable age, or mailing a copy by certified mail or using a designated delivery service.
If the landlord cannot deliver the summons via any of those methods despite trying to get in touch with the tenant, a copy can be left on the front door of the unit and mailed to the tenant’s last known address.
An affidavit, as laid out in Neb. Stat. § 76-1442.01, should then be filed to show that the landlord made all possible efforts to get in touch with the tenant but the tenant was unreachable.
Timeline
The court order must be served to the tenant within 3 days of its issuance.
Step 4 – The Tenant’s Answer
Once the tenant has received the summons, they can choose to file an answer with the court. The answer will provide any information that the tenant wishes to bring to the court’s attention, including whether they have made efforts to repair the problem laid out in the landlord’s notice to quit or if the tenant has any extenuating circumstances that the court should factor into its decision.
A tenant does not need to respond for a court date to be scheduled; they simply need to appear at the hearing on time. (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1445).
Timeline
The tenant has a minimum of 7 to 11 days to prepare before the eviction hearing.
Step 5 – Court Appearance
The court will assign a trial date to hear and, on most days, assign a judgment. Nebraska does not give an option for jury trials for evictions, so the information will be presented to the judge, and the judge will render the decision.
Both the landlord and tenant will have the opportunity to present their cases. Landlords should bring all relevant evidence to the court appearance, including:
- A copy of the lease.
- Evidence of any violations.
- The eviction notice and proof of service.
- The complaint.
If the judge rules in the landlord’s favor, the tenant will then have to move out of the property. If the landlord thinks that the tenant will not vacate the property, under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1446, the landlord can request a Writ of Restitution, which will specify that the tenant must leave the property within 10 days of the issuance of that writ or be forcibly removed.
Timeline
Eviction hearings are scheduled 10 to 14 days after the issuance of the Summons and Complaint.
Step 6 – Sheriff’s Removal of the Tenant
Once the court has ruled that the tenant must leave the property, and if the tenant fails to leave and the Writ of Restitution has been issued, the sheriff’s office will, for the fees laid out in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-117, forcibly remove the tenant from the property. At that point, the landlord can again take full possession of the property.
Timeline
Tenants have 10 days from the issuance of the Writ to vacate the property.
Eviction Reasons in Nebraska
The eviction timeline, as well as the steps landlords must take in order to legally evict a tenant, depend on a number of factors. An at-fault eviction may involve providing the tenant with time to remedy the issue at hand.
At-Fault Evictions
At-fault evictions occur when the tenant engages in a violation that causes the landlord to evict them from the property.
1. Nonpayment of Rent
When a tenant fails to pay rent in a timely manner, according to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1431(2) ,the landlord must start with a 7-day notice to pay rent. If the tenant does not take care of rent payment within seven calendar days of receiving notification, the landlord can move forward with eviction proceedings.
The seven days given by the 7-day notice period include weekends and bank holidays, which the tenant and landlord should take into account when managing the eviction process.
2. Failure To Adhere to the Terms of the Lease Agreement
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1431 lays out the terms under which a landlord can evict a tenant following a violation of the lease agreement, including any issues that may materially impact health and safety.
First, the landlord must issue a 14-day notice to quit that lays out the tenant’s need to take care of the violation, including what the violation is. The tenant then must take care of the violation within 14 days, or they have 30 days to vacate the premises.
If the tenant engages in the same lease violation more than once within a six-month period, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1431 further allows landlords to issue a 14-day notice to quit, giving the tenant 14 days to move out with no option to rectify the problem.
3. Illegal Activity
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1431 also notes the actions a landlord can take in the case of illegal activity by the tenant or anyone acting with the tenant’s knowledge who engages in illegal activity on the property. This may include:
- Physical assault.
- Illegal use of a firearm or threat thereof.
- Possession of a controlled substance.
- Activities that threaten the health and safety of anyone on the property or that could cause damage to the property.
In the case of illegal activity, the landlord can issue a 5-day notice to quit. This notice is without remedy, and tenants must vacate the property within five days.
No-Fault Evictions
In some cases, landlords may need to evict tenants from a rental property for reasons unrelated to the tenant’s activities.
1. End of Lease Term
At the end of the lease term, landlords may need to ask a tenant who does not otherwise intend to move out to leave the premises. Tenants may prefer to stay on the property for as long as possible, but the landlord may want to use the property for other reasons.
Towards the end of the lease term, landlords will need to provide tenants with a 30-day notice to quit. This will let the tenant know that the landlord does not intend to renew the terms of the lease and that the tenant needs to move out of the property.
2. Ending a Month-to-Month Rental Agreement
Landlord and tenant may enter into a month-to-month rental agreement, a lease agreement that does not have a fixed term and under which either landlord or tenant does not need to give a reason to sever the agreement. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1437 notes that the landlord must provide a 30-day notice to quit to notify tenants that they are ready to end the lease agreement.
Eviction Timeline
How long does the eviction process take in Nebraska? In most cases, it’s not a brief undertaking, and it will take longer if the tenant does not intend to leave the property.
| Reason | Curable | Lease Type | Duration | Notice Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of lease | No | Fixed term | Any | 30 days |
| End of lease | No | Month to month | Any | 30 days |
| Overdue rent | Yes | Any | Any | 7 calendar days |
| Lease violations | Yes | Any | Any | 14 calendar days to remedy/30 calendar days to vacate |
| Repeat lease violations | No | Any | Any | 14 calendar days |
| Illegal activity | No | Any | Any | 5 days |
Tenant Rights in Nebraska
Landlords have the right to evict tenants who fail to meet the terms of the lease agreement from their properties. However, tenants also have a number of essential rights that must be protected throughout the process.
Self-Help Evictions
A self-help eviction occurs when landlords take forcible action to remove a tenant from the property on their own rather than going through the proper legal channels and legal eviction process. That may include actions like:
- Replacing locks.
- Removing the tenant’s possessions from the property.
- Threatening the tenant to make them move from the property.
- Cutting off essential utility services to the property.
Under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1430, these actions are strictly prohibited. If the landlord does engage in those illegal actions, the tenant has the right to recover damages up to three months of rent. Furthermore, if a landlord engages in those activities prior to the eviction period, the tenant has the right to break the lease.
Abandoned Property
In some cases, a tenant may vacate the property quickly, leaving their personal property behind. Within 10 days of the formal eviction, the landlord must make an effort to get in touch with the tenant and notify them about those belongings.
According to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1446 and § 76-1414(5), the tenant has 20 days to respond to the landlord and let them know what they plan to do with their belongings, including whether they plan to claim any of it. Then, the tenant has 20 more days to claim their belongings. Only after that period does the landlord have the right to dispose of unclaimed personal property.
Resources
- Nebraska Lease Agreements: Provides a template for a lease agreement,
- Landlord and Tenant Handbook from Nebraska Legal Aid: Offers information about both landlord and tenant rights and how you can protect yourself in the event of a dispute,
- Local Tenants Rights, Laws, and Protections: Nebraska: Provides insight into how to handle housing discrimination and other serious issues for Nebraska tenants.
- Tenants’ Rights from the Nebraska College of Law: Get more information about tenants’ legal rights under Nebraska law, including how tenants can protect themselves in the event of a dispute.