Johnson County, Tennessee Eviction Risk: Low

Johnson County sits at the far northeastern tip of Tennessee, tucked against the Virginia border in the Blue Ridge Highlands. With a total renter population drawn largely from Mountain City (3.2/10) - the county seat and its only incorporated place - this is one of the smaller rental markets in the state, home to roughly 2,542 residents. The county's eviction-risk score of 3.2/10 (Low) places it 92nd out of 95 Tennessee eviction laws counties, putting it firmly in the lower-risk of the state for landlord exposure. Scores here range from 3.2 to 3.2, reflecting a market where a single city defines the entire county profile.

The landlord legal environment in Johnson County is shaped by a key structural fact: because the county's population falls below the 75,000-person threshold, it sits outside the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA) framework that governs most urban Tennessee counties. Instead, evictions proceed under TCA Title 29 Chapter 18, which requires a 30-day notice to vacate before a detainer warrant can be filed - longer than the 7-day nonpayment notice available in URLTA jurisdictions. That extra lead time adds weeks to the front end of any eviction, but once in court, an uncontested case typically wraps in 21 to 45 days. Court filing fees in Johnson County run $200 to $300, and sheriff lockout costs add another $40 to $150. Tennessee imposes no rent cap and no just-cause eviction requirement statewide, and the legislature has preempted local governments from enacting their own rent-control ordinances, so landlords here operate under a single, consistent ruleset with no local overlay to track.

Renters make up 43.2% of Johnson County households, a renter share that is substantial for a rural mountain county. Average rent of $516 a month and a rent burden of 28.6% suggest most households are not severely cost-stressed by national standards, yet a poverty rate of 20% means a meaningful share of tenants have thin financial margins. That combination - modest rents, high poverty, and a small landlord-friendly legal framework - keeps the risk score well below the Tennessee average of 3.7/10. For landlords weighing this market, the chief operational variable is the 30-day pre-suit notice window rather than any tenant-protection statute.

Johnson County's 3.2/10 risk score reflects a lightly regulated rural rental market where the biggest procedural consideration is the 30-day notice requirement under TCA Title 29 Chapter 18, not tenant-protective statutes. With 95 Tennessee counties tracked, Johnson ranks 92nd, meaning 91 counties carry higher risk and 3 carry lower.