Decatur County, Tennessee Eviction Risk: Low

Decatur County sits in the Tennessee eviction laws River lowlands of western Tennessee eviction laws, a rural county of roughly 4,703 residents where about 37.3% of occupied housing units are renter-occupied. The county carries an overall eviction risk score of 3.9/10 (Low), placing it 27th out of 95 counties statewide - meaning 26 Tennessee counties carry higher risk and 68 carry lower risk. For a landlord evaluating a western Tennessee eviction laws market, that puts Decatur County in the higher-risk portion of the state, a reassuring position that reflects both modest rent levels and a legal environment that tracks traditional Tennessee eviction laws landlord-tenant law closely.

The county seat is Decaturville, the smallest of the three incorporated places but the hub of local government and the courthouse where most eviction dockets are heard. Parsons, the county's largest city by population at 2,686 residents, carries the highest intra-county risk reading at 4/10, partly because its slightly denser rental stock and lower household incomes push the rent-burden signal higher. Scotts Hill, a small community near the McNairy County line with around 1,083 residents, scores 4/10 - a step below Parsons but still close to the county average. Decaturville itself, with 934 residents, anchors the low end of the local range at 3.4/10. In practice, that spread from 3.4 to 4 is narrow, signaling that risk conditions are fairly uniform across the county rather than concentrated in any single municipality.

Decatur County falls below the 75,000-population threshold that triggers coverage under Tennessee eviction laws's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA, T.C.A. § 66-28). That matters operationally: rather than the 7-day nonpayment notice that URLTA counties use, landlords here serve a 30-day notice under TCA Title 29 Chapter 18 before filing for possession. Once filed, uncontested detainers typically resolve in 21 to 45 days; contested cases can run 45 to 120 days depending on scheduling at the Decatur County General Sessions Court. Court filing fees run $200 to $300, sheriff's service adds $40 to $150, and attorney fees - if retained - typically fall in the $500 to $2,500 range for a straightforward case. Tennessee eviction laws imposes no state-level rent control and the legislature has preempted local jurisdictions from enacting it, so Decatur County landlords face no cap on rent increases beyond market forces and lease terms. Source-of-income discrimination is not a protected class under Tennessee eviction laws law, and no just-cause requirement applies to lease terminations. The average asking rent across the county is approximately $721 per month, well below state urban averages, and the average rent-burden rate sits at 23.9% - a figure that, while meaningful against a poverty rate of 32.5%, is lower than many comparable rural Tennessee eviction laws counties.

Decatur County's 3.9/10 score reflects limited tenant-protection statutes, a non-URLTA legal framework that extends pre-filing notice periods, and a low average rent burden relative to peer rural counties - factors that combine to keep eviction risk in the Low band despite a poverty rate above 30%.