Fayette County, Tennessee Eviction Risk: Low

Fayette County, Tennessee eviction laws earns an average eviction-risk score of 2.6/10 (Low), placing it in the middle third of Tennessee's 95 counties. Ranked 45th of 95, the county sits squarely in the pack: 44 counties carry higher risk and 50 are more landlord-friendly. Across the county's 8 cities, scores span a narrow 2 to 2.9 range, which means operating conditions are broadly stable but vary enough by city to reward a careful look before committing capital. With an average rent of $1,457 and a rent-burden rate of 27.9%, the rental market shows modest stress, nothing unusual for a rural Tennessee county, but worth monitoring at the individual market level.

The renter share across Fayette County is just 21.3%, which reflects a predominantly owner-occupied, lower-density landscape. For landlords, that means a thinner tenant pool but also less of the concentrated housing-court pressure found in urban cores. Portfolio investors accustomed to high-turnover urban submarkets will find the pace here considerably slower, and default rates and contested-eviction filings run below state urban averages at this risk tier.

The cities inside Fayette County

At the top of the risk range sits Gallaway at 2.9/10, the single highest-risk city in the county, though even that figure remains comfortably in the Low tier. Close behind are Somerville (2.8/10, population 3,466) and Moscow (2.8/10, population 768). Somerville, as the county seat and its most substantial rental market, draws the most landlord attention, and its score reflects somewhat higher tenant-turnover and economic-stress signals relative to the rest of the county.

The county's largest city, Oakland (population 9,979), scores 2.5/10, as do Piperton, Rossville, and Williston. At the far end sits La Grange at a flat 2/10, the lowest-risk city in Fayette County and one of the quietest rental markets in the dataset by population (just 62 residents). Risk here is genuinely hyper-local: even within a single low-risk county, the difference between Gallaway and La Grange is nearly a full point, so underwriting at the city level, not the county level, is the more reliable discipline.

State-level laws that apply here

Because Fayette County's total population falls under 75,000, it operates outside Tennessee's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA). That means the controlling notice period for most evictions is 30 days under TCA Title 29 Chapter 18, rather than the shorter URLTA timelines (7 days for nonpayment, 14 days for material breach) that apply in larger Tennessee counties. Landlords should confirm which regime governs each specific tenancy. Understanding the Tennessee eviction process in full is essential here, because the non-URLTA pathway has procedural requirements that differ from what investors accustomed to Memphis eviction risk or Nashville will expect.

On costs, Tennessee state law imposes court filing fees of $200 to $300, sheriff lockout fees of $40 to $150, and attorney fees typically ranging $500 to $2,500. An uncontested case resolves in 21 to 45 days; a contested case can stretch 45 to 120 days. Tennessee has no rent control and no just-cause eviction requirement, and state law preempts any local rent-control ordinance, giving landlords significant operational flexibility. For a full breakdown, the Tennessee eviction costs guide and the Tennessee security deposit limits page cover the statewide framework in detail. The Tennessee Human Rights Commission enforces fair-housing obligations; source-of-income status is not a protected class under state law.

With a poverty rate of 12.7% and a renter share of just 21.3%, Fayette County's rental market is small and relatively stable; review the city grid above to compare scores across all 8 cities before targeting a specific submarket.