Eviction cost calculator
The filing fee is the cheap part. Enter your rent, expected timeline, legal spend, and damage, and see what the eviction actually costs, and what shortening the case by even one month is worth.
How this calculator works
The calculator totals the four real cost centers of an eviction and nets them against the security deposit you hold:
- Monthly rent: the unit's contract rent. Every month the case drags on is a month of this you don't collect, which is why lost rent, not the filing fee, dominates the total.
- Months of rent lost: count from the first missed payment through re-rental, not just the courtroom phase. A typical nonpayment eviction runs two to four months end-to-end: notice period, filing and hearing, writ and lockout, then make-ready and marketing. Slow-court jurisdictions and contested cases run longer.
- Legal and court costs: filing fees, service of process, writ execution, and attorney fees if you use one. Uncontested filings in landlord-friendly counties can come in under $500; a contested case with counsel commonly runs $1,500–$5,000.
- Damage and make-ready beyond the deposit: evicted units routinely need more than a standard turn: junk-out, deep cleaning, repairs, sometimes lock and appliance replacement.
The output shows gross cost, then your out-of-pocket after applying the deposit. The last figure, what one month off the timeline is worth, is the number worth staring at. On a $1,800 unit, resolving one month sooner saves $1,800, which is more than most landlords spend on the entire court process.
Why documentation moves the number most
You can't control the court's calendar, but you can control whether your case survives its first hearing. Judges continue or dismiss eviction cases over fixable paperwork problems: a notice served wrong, a ledger that doesn't reconcile, no evidence of the lease violation. A clean file is the difference between winning on the first date and coming back in three weeks: signed lease, dated notices with proof of service, a rent ledger, photos, and a documented history of the violation. That is exactly the month of rent this calculator prices out.
Caveats
This is an estimate, not a quote. Filing fees, notice periods, and timelines vary by state and county; some jurisdictions mandate mediation or extra notice steps that add weeks. The calculator also assumes the tenant doesn't pay anything during the case. Recoveries via judgment happen, but collecting on them is slow and often partial. Treat the output as a planning number and talk to a local landlord-tenant attorney before filing.