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Eviction Process in Kansas


If you are being evicted in the state of Kansas, you may not know how to proceed.  Learning about the eviction process in Kansas can help you understand your rights and options under the law.  After reading this guide, you will understand the steps involved in the eviction process in Kansas and how long each step will take.

Getting Notice

Your landlord cannot simply file for eviction in court or force you to leave your home without going through the legal eviction process in Kansas.  Your landlord must first serve you with a three-day notice.  The three day notice gives you three days to fix the issues that have led to your landlord seeking eviction.

If you are being evicted due to a failure to pay rent, the three-day notice gives you three full days to pay any late rent and late fees due.  If you have violated some other tenet of your original lease agreement—for instance, by keeping an unauthorized pet—you will be given some way to cure the breach and continue your tenancy.

At this point in the eviction process in Kansas, no court is involved and you can still potentially negotiate with your landlord to stay in your home without any involvement from the court system.

Court Filings and Hearings

If you fail to pay rent or cure the breach of your lease within the three-day notice period, your landlord can go to the county courthouse and file a “forcible detainer” lawsuit.  This is the formal name for eviction lawsuits in the state of Kansas.

The eviction process in Kansas requires that you be served a copy of the complaint and summons in the suit.  The complaint will detail why you are being evicted, and the summons will give you a date for a hearing pertaining to your eviction.

You are not required to appear at the eviction hearing, but if you fail to appear, your landlord will win the case by default and you will be evicted.  In some cases, if your landlord has breached tenets of your original lease agreement, you may be able to win the eviction hearing and stay in your home or even be awarded damages from your landlord.  Check with a lawyer familiar with the eviction process in Kansas to learn more about your options for fighting an eviction in court.

Writ of Assistance

If you do not appear at the hearing, or if you lose, the court will issue a writ of assistance.  This writ orders the sheriff's department to forcibly remove you from the premises within 10 days if you do not voluntarily vacate.  Your landlord may not forcibly remove you on his or her own, but must follow the legal eviction process in Kansas, which allows only the sheriff to remove you.

Your landlord may not shut off your utilities, change your locks, or otherwise harass or intimidate you into leaving, and if your landlord does attempt this, you may be able to sue for damages.  If you leave property behind after an eviction, your landlord will store it for you for up to 30 days.  If you do not retrieve your property and pay storage costs, after 30 days, your landlord may keep or sell your personal belongings.

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