In court-decided eviction outcomes for New Orleans, LA, tenants prevail in roughly 26.0% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses, longer calendars, and more required documentation, and landlord-friendliness drops as this rises.
Timeline
41d
filing → judgment
From the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in New Orleans, LA until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 41 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent and higher carry costs for landlords.
Cost range
$1.3–4.7k
legal + lost rent
A typical eviction in New Orleans, LA costs landlords $1,278 to $4,703 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent during the calendar between filing and possession.
Average rent
$1,251
36% stretched on rent
Average gross rent in New Orleans, LA is $1,251 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey (5-year 2023). 36% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent, the federal cost-burden threshold.
Renters
48.8%
of households
48.8% of occupied housing units in New Orleans, LA are renter-occupied (vs owner-occupied). A higher renter share usually correlates with more eviction filings, more turnover, and a more active rental market.
Poverty
22.6%
7.8% unemp.
22.6% of New Orleans, LA residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 7.8%. Both feed into the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model because rent payment problems track poverty + joblessness more reliably than any other single signal.
Time machine
Scrub 50 years
197619861996200620162026
2026
● LIVE · today◀ REPLAY · historical
Nine-axis profile
9-axis profile · today
Shape of the risk surface
1 landlord · 10 tenant
Sub-scores · with sparkline
Where the score comes from
1 → 10 scale
Local political climate
Dem margin +67.0% (2024)
8.0
Regional political climate
County-weighted neighbor mix
5.5
State political climate
Louisiana legislature & governorship
3.5
Economic stress
22.6% poverty · 7.8% unemp.
7.0
Supply constraint
$1,251 average · 48.8% renters
6.5
Rent Control risk
35.9% of income on rent
2.5
Eviction process difficulty
41 days filing → judgment
5.5
Tenant organizing strength
48.8% renters
6.5
Housing court bias
County bench composition
4.5
Geographic context
Risk heat across New Orleans and the region
Click any city to see its score
How New Orleans compares
Risk score vs. peers, county, state, and the U.S.
Rank in Orleans Parish
Very High
#1of 2 cities
#1 of 2 cities in Orleans Parish for landlord eviction risk.
Rank in Louisiana
Very High
#1of 489 cities
#1 of 489 cities in Louisiana for landlord eviction risk.
vs. county · state · U.S.
Score story
Six-stop tour of the risk profile
3.7
/ 10 · LOW
The verdict
A Low-tier market.
Composite 3.7/10. Mid-range market; standard documentation usually wins. The 50-year curve shows a slow, steady climb.
50-yr trend+0.3 over 50 yr
197620012026
Steady ratchet · no large swings
41d
Typical timeline
The money
What renting (and evicting) looks like.
Rent published at $1,251/mo. A contested eviction takes 41 days and costs $1,278–$4,703 per case.
50-yr trendCalendar drag rising since '15
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
48.8%
Renters
The renters
Who you'll be renting to.
Out of 371,853 residents, 48.8% rent. 36% are spending 30%+ income on rent, 22.6% below the poverty line.
50-yr trendRenter share rising
197620012026
ACS 1970-present · once the migration overlay is in.
6.8
Local + regional
The politics
Strong-tenant coastal market.
Local & regional political climate score 8 and 5.5 (Dem margin +67.0% (2024)). State climate at 3.5, a mid-range statehouse.
50-yr trendTracks county vote margin
197620012026
Built on 50-yr presidential margins back to 1976.
3.5
State politics
The process
Moderate calendar, moderate friction.
State political climate 3.5/10 sets the legislative ceiling for landlord remedies, and it shows up in the process. Eviction process difficulty reads 5.5, housing court bias 4.5, rent-control risk 2.5. Standard process speed for the state.
50-yr trendProcess difficulty +0.5 since '00
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
7
Economic stress
The stress
Economic pressure is the background risk.
Economic stress: 7. Supply constraint: 6.5. The numbers behind those: 22.6% poverty, 7.8% unemployment, 36% of income on rent.
50-yr trendTwo visible dips · '08 + COVID
197620012026
Mirrors BLS unemployment series.
US eviction landscape · timeline × all-in cost
New Orleans sits in the quick & cheap quadrant
Bubble size = population · color = risk score
New Orleans · 41d · ~$3.0k all-in ($73/day) · score 3.7National average: 58d · $4.6k all-inHover any bubble for stats · click to openColor: 0–4 4–7 7–10
Landlording in New Orleans, Louisiana, presents a manageable operating environment for documented landlords. The Eviction Risk Score is 3.7/10 (LOW tier), drawn from the nine sub-axes shown above, covering rent-control exposure, eviction-process difficulty, housing-court bias, tenant-organizing strength, supply constraint, economic stress, and local, regional, and state political climate. This is not a quick-fix market: it's a Mid-tier market where lease drafting, screening discipline, and well-documented notices materially change outcomes.
New Orleans is a city of 371,853 residents where 48.8% of occupied units are renter-occupied, and the typical renter spends 35.9% of income on rent. At an average rent of $1,251/month, the typical renter household here spends more than the federal 30% threshold on housing, a leading indicator of payment volatility and a precondition for the kinds of tenant defenses that show up most often in housing court.
01Process
How New Orleans eviction process actually works
Eviction process difficulty here reads 5.5/10, a number that combines statutory complexity (notice categories, just-cause rules, mandatory pre-filing disclosures) with operational realities (court calendar length and clerk responsiveness). The typical contested filing in New Orleans closes 41 days after the initial notice. For non-payment of rent the first step is a properly-formatted, properly-served pay-or-quit notice; for material lease breaches it's a cure-or-quit; for tenancies under just-cause protection an at-fault grounds notice (or a no-fault notice with statutory relocation assistance) is required.
The slow part of New Orleans's timeline is usually the calendar, not the motion practice. Housing court bias scores 4.5/10 here, meaning judges read borderline procedural defects in the tenant's favor more often than the national norm. The practical implication: every notice and every proof of service needs to be airtight before it gets filed.
02Cost
What it costs (and how long it takes)
An all-in eviction in New Orleans runs $1,278 to $4,703 per case once you account for filing fees, attorney time, lost rent during pendency, sheriff lockout, and unit turnover. That range is wide because the upper bound assumes a tenant answer plus motion practice, common when housing court bias is high. The lower bound assumes a default judgment after proper service.
For landlords running the numbers on holding costs vs. cash-for-keys: if your projected timeline times your monthly rent already exceeds the high-end cost number, cash-for-keys at 1–2 months' rent is typically the economically rational choice. With 41 days of typical timeline and $1,251/month in lost rent, that crossover happens fast here.
03Operations
Security deposits, screening, and lease terms
Tenant organizing strength scores 6.5/10 in New Orleans, and the city has limited rent control exposure (2.5/10). Operations practice that survives audit in this environment looks like:
Screening discipline. Document income (verified at 2.5 to 3x rent), credit (with a clear minimum), and prior-tenancy reference checks, but do not screen on protected categories or source-of-income where banned. Keep a written, consistent screening criteria document for every applicant.
Lease specificity. Use a state-specific lease that names every term clearly: rent due date, late fees within statutory caps, deposit handling, smoke and CO disclosure, lead paint disclosure (pre-1978 stock), and a clean attorney's-fees clause.
Security deposit handling. Itemize deductions within the statutory window. Photograph move-in/move-out condition. In Louisiana, deposit cap and refund window are statute, so exceed them at your own risk.
Mid-tenancy documentation. Keep date-stamped records of every rent receipt, every habitability request, every notice served. The day you need them in court is too late to start.
04Strategy
What an everyday landlord should actually do here
If you own one to four units in New Orleans: hire a property manager who knows the local court. The pricing differential between self-managing and hiring out is small relative to the cost of one botched eviction in a LOW tier market. If you own five or more: build relationships with a local landlord-side attorney before you need one, since retainer fees are negligible compared to emergency-rate billing when an eviction is already moving.
The avoidable mistakes here are all upstream of the filing: weak screening, an informal lease, sloppy rent receipts, and notice templates pulled off the internet that don't match Louisiana's statutory language. Fix those four, and most cases settle or default. Skip them, and a $4,703 all-in fight is the realistic worst case.
04bPractical traps
Local traps to avoid in New Orleans
Trap · HEALTHY HOMES ORDINANCE (2022)
The New Orleans Healthy Homes Ordinance (2022) requires landlord registration and proactive habitability inspection on rental units. Compliance is uneven and enforcement is sporadic, but the ordinance produces a paper trail that tenant defense attorneys use systematically. The Just Cause Eviction Ordinance (proposed 2024) would add municipal just-cause; it stalled at the council in 2024-2025 because of state preemption concerns.
Trap · R.S. 9:3258 (2022)
State preemption: R.S. 9:3258 (2022) preempted municipal rent control. R.S. 9:3261 (2018) preempted local source-of-income ordinances; New Orleans had a 2020 SOI ordinance that was challenged and most provisions enjoined under that preemption. The 1st City Court eviction calendar moves fast even by Louisiana standards; default-judgment frequency runs high when service is documented.
04Eviction filings
Live filings tracking · Eviction Lab
Princeton Eviction Lab Tracking System, county-level. Last update 2026-03-01.
In the most recent month, 467 eviction cases were filed across the tracker's coverage area, 1.25× the historical baseline (near baseline). Past 12 months: 5,023 filings. Pandemic-era cumulative: 28,706.
467Past month
5,023Past 12 months
1.25×vs baseline (past mo)
19.7%Repeat-tenant filings
Notice requirement: at least five days notice (in some cases more). Filing fee: $131.50 filing fee.
Last 36 months of filings2023-03-01 – 2026-02-01
Filings climbed 9% over the past 12 months.
Source: Eviction Lab Tracking System, Princeton University. Open Data Commons Attribution license.
05FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Q1
Can I evict a tenant in New Orleans for no reason?
Yes, for month-to-month leases, you can terminate the tenancy with a 30-day notice without needing a "just cause." For fixed-term leases, you generally need a lease violation (like non-payment) to evict before the lease ends. Louisiana does not have statewide just-cause eviction requirements.
Q2
How much notice do I need to give for non-payment of rent in New Orleans?
You must give a 5-day pay-or-quit notice. This means the tenant has five calendar days to pay the overdue rent or move out before you can file an eviction lawsuit in court.
Q3
What happens if a tenant doesn't move out after the eviction order?
After the judge grants you a Warrant for Possession, the sheriff will serve it, giving the tenant a final chance to leave. If they still don't move, the sheriff will physically remove them and their belongings on a scheduled lockout date. You will need to coordinate with the sheriff's office.
Q4
Is there rent control in New Orleans?
No, there is no statewide rent control in Louisiana, and New Orleans does not have local rent control ordinances. Landlords are generally free to set and raise rents according to market conditions, though proper notice for rent increases is still required, typically 30 days for month-to-month tenancies. For more, see our Louisiana rent control rules.
Q5
Can I keep the security deposit for unpaid rent?
Yes, you can deduct unpaid rent from the security deposit, along with costs for damages beyond normal wear and tear. You must provide an itemized statement of deductions within 30 days of the tenant moving out. Make sure to document everything. Refer to Louisiana tenant protections for full details.
A 3.7/10 places New Orleans in the 100th percentile of Louisiana cities on the Eviction Risk Score index. The score is the average of the nine sub-axes, all calibrated on a national 1 to 10 scale where 1 is most landlord-friendly and 10 is most tenant-protective. The 50-year reconstruction shows this score has climbed steadily since 1976, a structural drift driven by court-calendar growth, rent-control adoption, and the rise of tenant-side legal aid. The trajectory matters more than the snapshot: the score is the climate, not the weather.
Neighborhoods in New Orleans (24 with eviction-risk data)
Click a neighborhood to see its pop-weighted score, constituent census tracts, and demographics. Sorted by population.
