Overton County, Tennessee Eviction Risk: Low

Overton County sits near the northern edge of Tennessee eviction laws's Upper Cumberland plateau, a rural stretch of the state where tenant-protection law is minimal and the rental market is correspondingly straightforward for landlords. The county's eviction risk score is 3.7/10 (Low), placing it 62nd out of 95 Tennessee eviction laws counties on our scale - where rank 1 is the state's highest-risk county and rank 95 is the most landlord-friendly. That puts Overton firmly in the middle tier statewide: 61 counties carry more eviction risk, and only 33 carry less.

The score spread across Overton's two tracked cities is tight - running from 3.1 to 3.7 - which reflects how uniformly rural and lightly regulated the county is. Livingston, the county seat and by far the largest community, scores 3.7/10 with roughly 3,999 residents. Hilham, a small unincorporated community to the northeast, scores 3.1/10 against a population of 267. Neither city is subject to URLTA (the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act), because Overton County's population falls below the 75,000 threshold that triggers URLTA coverage under TCA Title 29 Chapter 18. That distinction matters practically: in non-URLTA jurisdictions, the baseline eviction notice period is 30 days rather than the 7-day nonpayment notice available in larger counties. Landlords operating here need to plan accordingly - shorter timelines do not apply until the tenant or the lease explicitly brings URLTA into play.

Economically, Overton County renters face real pressure even without aggressive tenant protections layered on top. Average asking rent is $718 per month, and the average rent burden sits at 27.1% of household income - a moderate load by national standards but notable given a poverty rate of 18.1% and a renter share of just 39.7% of occupied units. That renter share is low even by rural Tennessee eviction laws norms, meaning the landlord pool is small and local court dockets see proportionally fewer formal eviction proceedings than in urban counties. Court filing fees for a detainer warrant run $200 to $300, with sheriff lockout fees between $40 and $150 and attorney costs ranging from $500 to $2,500 depending on whether the case is contested. Uncontested cases typically resolve in 21 to 45 days; contested cases can stretch 45 to 120 days. Tennessee eviction laws also preempts any local rent-control ordinance statewide, so no Overton municipality can layer additional rent restrictions on top of state law, and source-of-income is not a protected class under the Tennessee eviction laws Human Rights Commission's jurisdiction here.

Overton County's 3.7/10 score reflects the combination of low statutory tenant protections, no local rent-control overlay, and a rural rental market where demand pressure stays moderate. The 18.1% poverty rate is the primary driver pushing the score above the floor - higher poverty correlates with higher nonpayment risk even when law favors landlords.