Houston County, Tennessee Eviction Risk: Low

Houston County sits in the upper Cumberland River lowlands of northwestern Tennessee, a rural county of roughly 8,700 residents anchored by the county seat of Erin and the larger community of Tennessee Ridge. Eviction Risk Map rates the county at 3.2/10 (Low), placing it 76th of 95 Tennessee counties -- squarely in the lower-risk of the state by risk. That ranking means 75 counties carry higher eviction-risk readings than Houston, and 19 are rated lower. Within the county, scores hold in a narrow band: Tennessee Ridge comes in at 3.2/10 while Erin, the county seat, edges slightly higher at 4/10, for a county spread of 3.2 to 4.

The relatively low overall score reflects several structural features of Houston County's rental market. Only about 25.8% of households rent rather than own -- well below the Tennessee statewide average -- and the typical gross rent lands around $774 per month, a figure that keeps absolute rent burden modest. Even so, rent burden averages 23.9% of renter household income across the county, and a poverty rate of roughly 20% means a meaningful share of renters have little cushion against an income disruption. Those households are the ones most likely to face an eviction filing, which is why even a low-scoring county like Houston deserves close attention from landlords and tenants alike.

On the legal side, Houston County falls under Tennessee's non-URLTA framework because its population sits well under 75,000. That distinction matters: rather than the 7-day nonpayment notice required in larger URLTA counties under TCA § 66-28-505, Houston County landlords issue a 30-day notice governed by TCA Title 29 Chapter 18. A detainer warrant filed in General Sessions court typically costs $200-$300, and uncontested cases resolve in 21-45 days from filing, with contested matters running 45-120 days. Sheriff's lockout fees run $40-$150. Tennessee does not require just cause for most evictions and the state statute (T.C.A. § 66-28-302) preempts any local rent control, so landlords here operate under a relatively stable, predictable legal framework compared to higher-risk urban counties in the state.

Houston County's 3.5/10 rating reflects a thin rental market and rent levels well below the Tennessee eviction laws average, buffered further by the absence of just-cause requirements and local rent-control rules. Scores across Tennessee Ridge (3.2/10) and Erin (4/10) stay tightly clustered, signaling consistent low-to-moderate risk throughout the county rather than pockets of elevated exposure.