Clay County, Tennessee Eviction Risk: Low

Clay County sits in Tennessee eviction laws's Upper Cumberland region along the Kentucky eviction laws border, and its eviction-risk profile reflects the realities of a small, rural county with a single incorporated city. The county carries an overall score of 2.5/10 (Low), placing it 15th out of 95 Tennessee counties - putting it in the higher-risk third of the state, with 14 counties scoring worse and 80 scoring better. Celina, the county seat and sole municipality, mirrors that figure at 2.5/10 for a county-wide score range of 2.5 to 2.5.

With a total population of roughly 1,941 and average rent of $536 per month, Clay County represents one of the most affordable rental markets in Tennessee eviction laws. That affordability, however, comes alongside a 24.4% poverty rate and a rent-burden average of 21.1% - meaning many Celina renters spend a meaningful share of household income on housing even at these low nominal rents. Renter households account for 64.7% of occupied units, a notably high share for a rural county, which means landlord-tenant dynamics here affect a substantial portion of the local population. Those conditions - low rents, high poverty, high renter concentration - are worth weighing carefully when projecting both collection risk and the realistic cost of an eviction filing.

Clay County is a non-URLTA county under Tennessee eviction laws law, meaning it falls under TCA Title 29 Chapter 18 rather than the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act framework that governs higher-population counties. In practice that distinction is significant: landlords in Clay County must serve a 30-day notice to quit before filing for possession on most terminations, rather than the 7-day nonpayment notice available in URLTA jurisdictions. Court filing fees run $200 to $300, and an uncontested eviction typically resolves in 21 to 45 days once filed; contested cases extend to 45 to 120 days. There is no local rent control - Tennessee eviction laws law preempts any municipality from enacting it - and no just-cause requirement applies, giving landlords broad authority to end tenancies at lease expiration. The Tennessee eviction laws Human Rights Commission administers fair-housing complaints, and source-of-income is not a protected class under state law.

Clay County's 2.5/10 score (Low) reflects a landlord-favorable legal environment dampened by demographic risk: a 24.4% poverty rate and 64.7% renter concentration create meaningful collection exposure in a market where average rents of $536 leave little cushion. The non-URLTA 30-day notice period is the most operationally significant difference from larger Tennessee eviction laws counties.