Giles County, Tennessee Eviction Risk: Moderate

Giles County sits in southern Middle Tennessee, anchored by Pulaski and a cluster of small rural towns that together house roughly 11,160 tracked renters. The county carries an eviction risk score of 4.2/10 (Moderate), placing it 11th of 95 Tennessee counties - meaning 10 counties statewide show higher risk and 84 show lower risk. That ranking puts Giles in the higher-risk third of the state, though its absolute score remains well below the statewide average of 3.7/10. For landlords, the practical picture is a market where rents average $834 per month, about 47.8% of households rent rather than own, and 24.9% of residents fall below the federal poverty line - a combination that concentrates financial stress among tenants even in a low-risk scoring environment.

Scores across Giles County's 7 tracked cities span from 3.1 to 4.2/10, a spread that reflects meaningful differences in economic pressure from one town to the next. Elkton sits at the top of that range at 4/10 - a small community of 469 residents where a concentrated renter population and limited economic diversity push the number up. Pulaski, the county seat and by far its largest city at 8,285 residents, scores 4.2/10 and drives much of the county average given its population weight. Lynnville comes in at 3.3/10, Ardmore at 3.7/10, and Prospect at 3.2/10. On the lower end, Minor Hill scores 4/10 and Frankewing - the county's smallest tracked community at just 19 residents - scores 3.1/10, pulling the floor of the range down noticeably. The gap between Frankewing and Elkton illustrates how much micro-market conditions vary even within a single rural county.

Tennessee operates under the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (T.C.A. § 66-28) in its larger counties, but Giles County falls below the 75,000-population threshold that triggers mandatory URLTA application. Under TCA Title 29 Chapter 18, landlords in non-URLTA counties must serve a 30-day notice before filing - longer than the 7-day nonpayment notice available in URLTA jurisdictions. Once a case is filed, court costs run $200 to $300 at the General Sessions level, with sheriff lockout fees adding $40 to $150 on top of a judgment. Uncontested cases typically resolve in 21 to 45 days from filing; contested matters extend to 45 to 120 days depending on court scheduling in Pulaski. Tennessee imposes no rent control and requires no just-cause basis for non-renewal - the state preemption statute bars any local government from enacting rent regulations, so Giles County landlords face no local rent cap or stabilization ordinance now or in the foreseeable future. Source-of-income protection is also absent at both the state and local level, giving landlords full discretion on tenant selection beyond federal fair-housing categories enforced by the Tennessee Human Rights Commission.

Giles County's Moderate risk rating reflects a market with moderate rent burden (24.8% of income) and no protective tenant legislation - the legal framework is straightforward for landlords, but elevated poverty rates (24.9%) and a large renter share (47.8%) mean collections pressure is real, particularly in Pulaski and Elkton where financial stress concentrates most.