How to Evict a Tenant in Idaho: Laws, Process, and Timeline
Idaho Eviction Timeline 2026: A Non-Payment Trial Within 12 Days, Not a 20-Day Answer Window
Idaho’s unlawful detainer chapter, Idaho Code §§ 6-301 through 6-324, runs eviction statewide through the district court of the county where the property sits (§ 6-305); the notice for ending a tenancy at will comes from § 55-208. This page covers the lawsuit itself: notice, filing, the hearing, the writ.
Grounds and Notice Periods
| Ground | Notice Period | Statute | Curable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-payment of rent | 3 days | Idaho Code § 6-303(2) | Yes — the notice demands the stated amount or possession, so paying it within the window answers the notice |
| Breach of another lease covenant | 3 days | § 6-303(3) | Yes — performing within 3 days saves the lease; if the broken covenant can’t be performed afterward, no notice is required at all |
| Assigning or subletting against the lease, or committing waste on the premises | 3-day notice to quit | § 6-303(4) | Waste: no — the act itself terminates the lease. Assigning or subletting: the statute points both ways. Subsection (4) says the act terminates the lease, but subsection (3) expressly lists “any covenant not to assign or sublet” among the covenants covered by the 3-day notice to perform, which the tenant can perform within 3 days to save the lease |
| Delivery, production or use of a controlled substance on the leased premises | None stated in § 6-303(5) | § 6-303(5) | No |
| No-cause, tenancy at will | Not less than one month, in writing | § 55-208(1) | N/A |
The Court Process — The Non-Payment Track Is Fast
For an action exclusively for possession of a tract of five acres or less, based on non-payment of rent or on controlled-substance activity at the property, § 6-310(1)–(2) has the court schedule the trial within 12 days of the complaint being filed, with the summons, complaint, and trial-setting notice served no less than 5 days before that trial. On that track, § 6-311 caps any continuance at 2 days unless the tenant posts security for the rent that would accrue, and § 6-311A has the judge, not a jury, decide the case. A case on another ground, such as a holdover or a breach of a different covenant, or over land larger than five acres, is not on this track.
- File. Once notice has run, the landlord files an unlawful detainer complaint in the district court for the property’s county.
- Serve. On the five-acres-or-less non-payment or drug track, the summons, complaint, and trial-setting notice must reach the tenant at least 5 days before trial.
- Trial. On the five-acres-or-less non-payment or drug track, § 6-310(2) sets the trial within 12 days of filing.
- Judgment. A landlord who wins gets judgment for restitution of the premises; in a non-payment case the court also finds the rent due and assesses damages (§ 6-316(1)).
- Writ of restitution. The landlord or the landlord’s agent can deliver the writ, or hand it to the sheriff to deliver (§ 6-316(2)).
- Removal. The 72 hours a residential tenant has to remove belongings start with the jury’s verdict or the court’s finding for the landlord, not with delivery of the writ. Once that time has passed and three days have run since the court’s finding, the sheriff restores possession to the landlord (§ 6-316(2)).
What This Costs
Confirm the current filing fee and any sheriff’s service charge with the clerk of the district court in the property’s county before filing.
What a Landlord Cannot Do
Turning out a tenant in possession by force, threats, or menacing conduct is forcible entry under Idaho Code § 6-301(2), and § 6-317 lets a court triple the damages for a forcible entry or detention. Belongings left behind may be removed only once the 72-hour window in § 6-316(2), counted from the verdict or court finding, has run. On retaliation, neither the unlawful detainer chapter (Title 6, Chapter 3) nor the tenancy sections of Title 55, Chapters 2 and 3 contain a retaliation section; the codified protection found here is § 55-2015, which covers residents of manufactured-home communities.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does an Idaho tenant have to respond to a non-payment eviction complaint? For a residence on five acres or less, Idaho Code § 6-310(2) has the court set the trial within 12 days of filing, with service at least 5 days ahead of it, so the tenant’s real deadline is that trial date rather than a 20-day answer period.
Does Idaho have an anti-retaliation statute for renters generally? Not in the eviction and tenancy chapters: Title 6, Chapter 3 and Title 55, Chapters 2 and 3 have no retaliation section. The retaliation bar in § 55-2015 applies to manufactured-home community residents.
Is there a grace period for rent in Idaho? Section 6-303(2) ties the 3-day notice to “default in the payment of rent” under the lease and writes in no grace period, and the notice may be served any time within one year after the rent became due. Some leases include their own contractual grace period, so the lease itself is worth checking before serving notice.