Meigs County, Tennessee Eviction Risk: Moderate

Meigs County sits along the Hiwassee River in southeastern Tennessee eviction laws, a largely rural jurisdiction where the rental housing stock is small but the economic pressures on tenants are significant. The county's eviction risk score of 4.2/10 (Moderate) places it 8th of 95 Tennessee counties ranked by risk to landlords -- meaning only 7 counties in the state carry a higher risk profile. That ranking puts Meigs in the higher-risk third of Tennessee, a notable position for a county with fewer than 2,000 renters tracked in city-level data. The sole tracked municipality, Decatur, scores 4.2/10, anchoring the county average at the same level -- a clean signal that risk is evenly distributed across this compact market rather than concentrated in any one pocket.

What drives that elevated position? Meigs County's poverty rate stands at 30.4%, nearly double the Tennessee average, and while average rent of $847 per month sits below many urban Tennessee markets, rent burden still reaches 24.5% of household income for the typical renter. Nearly 42.3% of occupied housing units are renter-occupied, a share that exceeds what most people picture for a rural Appalachian-adjacent county. The combination of high poverty, moderate rent burden, and a substantial renter population creates conditions where lease disputes and payment shortfalls occur at elevated rates relative to wealthier Tennessee counties -- and where tenants have fewer financial buffers when income disruptions hit. Those fundamentals are what the risk score is measuring, not the legal environment alone.

On the legal side, Meigs County operates outside the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA) because its population falls below the 75,000-resident threshold for mandatory URLTA coverage. That matters directly to notice requirements: landlords in Meigs County must give 30 days written notice to terminate a tenancy under TCA Title 29 Chapter 18, rather than the 7-day nonpayment or 14-day material-breach notices available in URLTA-covered urban counties. There is no local rent control and no just-cause eviction requirement -- Tennessee state law (T.C.A. § 66-28) preempts any municipality from enacting rent caps, and Meigs County has no local tenant-protection ordinances. Court filing fees run $200-$300, and an uncontested eviction typically resolves in 21-45 days once filed, with contested cases running 45-120 days. That procedural timeline is consistent with the rest of rural Tennessee.

Meigs County's 4.2/10 score reflects a rural market under genuine economic stress: 30.4% poverty, 42.3% renter share, and average rents of $847 that still consume nearly a quarter of typical household income. The county operates under non-URLTA rules (30-day notice, TCA Title 29 Chapter 18), with court costs of $200-$300 and no local rent-control or just-cause protections. Decatur -- the only tracked city -- scores 4.2/10, confirming that risk is concentrated county-wide rather than in a single urban node.