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Legal Cost Per Eviction Calculator

Evictions carry full legal cost stacks. This calculator sums all components.

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Total legal cost

$1,600

Base cost (uncontested)

$1,250

Contested cost

$1,600

How the math works

Base = attorney + filing + service + writ. Contested adds hearing cost.

Track eviction legal cost as a rolling 90-day average per property. Properties running double the portfolio average aren't unlucky — they've usually got process gaps (slow filings, repeated service failures, contested hearings) that translate into days of extra vacancy on top of the direct fees.

How to Use

  1. Enter attorney fee.
  2. Enter filing fee.
  3. Enter service of process fee.
  4. Enter writ of possession fee.
  5. Enter hearing/court cost.
  6. Read full legal cost.

Frequently Asked Questions

Typical ranges?

Uncontested eviction (most MF): $700-1,800. Contested with hearing: $1,800-5,000. Appeals: add $2-10k. Commercial evictions (higher stakes, slower): $5-30k+. Jurisdictional variance is massive; know your local market.

Recovery?

Writ and attorney fees are usually recoverable in judgment. Actual collection rate on judgment: 20-40% (higher when wages garnishable). Most landlords write off 60-80% of eviction legal cost after factoring collection.

Speed vs cost?

Using pre-paid eviction attorney (volume discount): 20-40% cheaper than ad hoc. Automated filing services (Rentec, Avail, LeaseHawk Pro): fastest. Doing-it-yourself not recommended in contested markets; procedural errors cost months.

What documentation matters here?

Written leases, move-in/move-out inspections with photographs, ledger entries showing every payment and charge, served notices with proof of service, and contemporaneous emails or texts. Courts weigh written evidence heavily; informal understandings rarely stand. Institutional operators run a monthly file audit to catch gaps before they matter. Good paper trails recover most of what's owed.

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