Landlord Atlas

What is the eviction process and timeline in Delaware?

Verified September 5, 2026 All Delaware topics →

To evict a residential tenant in Delaware the landlord must first serve a written notice - at least 7 days to pay or quit for unpaid rent (25 Del. C. § 5502(a), as amended effective September 1, 2026; the figure was 5 days before that, and the demand may now issue only after the § 5501(d) late-fee window has passed) or at least 7 days to cure a material breach of a lease rule or covenant (§ 5513(a)) - and then file an action for summary possession in the Justice of the Peace Court for the county where the rental unit is located (§ 5701).

Cited to 25 Del. C. § 5101 (a) and 59 more cited sources · Verified September 5, 2026

Delaware counts short periods oddly: because § 5112 excludes intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays from any period "less than 7 days," the 5-day service floor and the 5-day appeal window are business-day periods, while both 7-day notices count weekends (the rent notice moved to the calendar-day side of that line when it went from 5 days to 7). After filing, the case is automatically scheduled for mediation under the Justice of the Peace Court's residential eviction diversion program, and trial may not begin until the landlord has engaged in mediation, which must be completed at least 48 hours before the trial date (§ 5702A). The complaint and a notice of hearing must be served at least 5 days and not more than 30 days before the hearing (§ 5705(a)). A landlord who wins gets a writ of possession, which the court may not issue during the 5-day appeal period; the constable or sheriff executes it after at least 24 hours' notice, between sunrise and sunset (§§ 5715, 5717(d)). Appeal is a trial de novo before a panel of three justices of the peace, requested in writing within 5 days of judgment (§ 5717). Locking a tenant out or shutting off utilities is barred by statute and exposes the landlord to treble damages (§§ 5312(e), 5313). Two Delaware-specific paperwork duties travel with the notice: the landlord must give every new tenant the Attorney General's summary of the Landlord-Tenant Code at the beginning of the rental term, and a tenant who never got it "may plead ignorance of the law as a defense" (§ 5118); and the right-to-representation informational materials must be handed over whenever a § 5502 or § 5513 notice is served (§ 5606). Since September 1, 2026 a tenant facing a nonpayment judgment also has a statutory right of redemption (§ 5716A): paying everything the court finds due, including costs and fees, at any time before the writ is executed stays and then vacates the judgment, unless the tenant has had two nonpayment possession judgments in the prior 18 months. The same act deleted the old rule that a landlord could accept a late payment "with a written reservation of rights" and keep the case alive: full payment before filing now bars the action and full payment after filing bars maintaining it, and the landlord may not refuse a rent payment (§ 5502(c)-(d)).

Delaware eviction process at a glance

Nonpayment notice (pay-or-quit) 7 days
Nonpayment notice rules (day counting, cure rights, service)

Since September 1, 2026 the written demand may issue only after the late-fee window has run - the amended statute lets the landlord demand payment "any time after the time period between the date the rent is due and the date under this Code when late fees may be imposed" - and the days then run from the date the notice was given or sent. The period is 7 days, and because § 5112 drops intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays only from periods "less than 7 days," the 7-day notice counts calendar days: only the day-of-notice exclusion and the last-day rollover apply.

25 Del. C. § 5502(a), as amended by 85 Del. Laws, c. 436 (SS 1 for SB 116, effective September 1, 2026): the landlord "may, any time after the time period between the date the rent is due and the date under this Code when late fees may be imposed, demand payment for the past due rent and notify the tenant in writing that unless payment is made within a time mentioned in such notice, to be not less than 7 days after the date notice was given or sent, the landlord may file a court action to terminate the rental agreement." Three things changed on September 1, 2026. TIMING: the pre-amendment text let the demand issue "any time after rent is due, including the time period between the date the rent is due and the date ... when late fees may be imposed"; the act struck "rent is due, including," so the demand now waits until the late-fee window under § 5501(d) has passed - a fee may not be imposed within 5 days of the agreed payment date, and where the landlord keeps no office or other permanent place of payment in the county the agreed payment date itself moves 3 days later. The Justice of the Peace Court's own explanation of the act reads it the same way: demand notices "may not be sent by the landlord until after the date late fees may be imposed." LENGTH: 5 days became 7, still running from the date the notice was "given or sent," so mailing starts the clock. CONTENT: the notice now warns that the landlord "may file a court action to terminate the rental agreement" rather than that the agreement "shall be terminated," and the demand is for "the past due rent" (formerly "payment thereof").

DAY UNIT: calendar days. 25 Del. C. § 5112 (and the identical Del. J.P. Ct. Civ. R. 6(a)) excludes the day of the act, rolls a last day falling on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday to the next non-holiday weekday, and excludes intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays only "[w]hen the period of time prescribed or allowed is less than 7 days." Seven is not less than seven, so the amended notice period counts intermediate weekends and holidays - the same unit as the 7-day lease-violation notice in § 5513. The old 5-day period was a business-day period under the same rule (roughly 7 calendar days), so the amendment changed the counting unit as well as the number, and the calendar length of the notice is about what it was before. The 5-day service floor (§ 5705(a)) and the 5-day appeal window (§ 5717) are still "less than 7 days" and still run in business days.

SERVICE (§ 5113): personally on the tenant, or by leaving a copy at the rental unit or usual place of abode with an adult person residing there; in lieu of personal service, by registered or certified mail, or first-class mail evidenced by a certificate of mailing (return receipt signed, refused or unclaimed, or the certificate of mailing, is prima facie evidence of service); or by posting on the rental unit combined with a return receipt or certificate of mailing; or by a court-appointed special process server.

SECOND DOCUMENT, SAME CLOCK: 25 Del. C. § 5606(3) requires the landlord to hand over Coordinator-approved informational materials on the tenant's right to legal representation (prepared in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole) "[w]hen the landlord provides any of the notices under § 5602(b)(1)," which expressly includes the § 5502 past-due-rent notice. Two documents, one notice period.

OVERLAYS: § 5501(d) caps a contractual late charge at 5% of monthly rent, forbids imposing it within 5 days of the due date, and - if the landlord fails to maintain an office or other permanent place of payment in the county where the unit is located - extends the agreed time for payment of rent by 3 days beyond the due date. Since September 1, 2026 that same window also gates the § 5502(a) demand. Landlord-billed utility charges are rent for nonpayment purposes (§ 5312(e)).

CURE (§ 5502(c)-(d), as amended): payment of all rent due by the tenant "or another person or entity on behalf of a tenant" before the landlord initiates an action bars a summary possession action based on that nonpayment (§ 5502(c)); payment of all rent due under the terms of the lease after filing bars the landlord from maintaining the action based on that nonpayment (§ 5502(d)). The former condition that the landlord have accepted the payment "without a written reservation of rights" is deleted, and the landlord "may not refuse to accept rental payments by or on behalf of a tenant"; the landlord may restrict the method of payment to the forms the lease accepts before judgment and, once a judgment has been entered, may require a certified check or money order (§ 5502(d)a.-b.). A rent-only action requires a proper demand, notice of the intention to sue, and the lapse of the notice period (§ 5502(b)). After judgment, § 5716 still lets a tenant whose default "arose out of a good faith dispute" stay all proceedings by paying all rent due at the date of judgment plus costs, or by filing an undertaking to pay within 10 days of judgment.

RIGHT OF REDEMPTION (§ 5716A, added by 85 Del. Laws, c. 436): in a summary possession action for nonpayment of rent for a rental unit or a lot in a manufactured home community, where the landlord has requested or been awarded a judgment of possession, the tenant may redeem "at any time before the actual execution of the eviction order" by tendering to the landlord all past-due amounts as determined by the court, including all rent due under the lease plus all court-awarded costs and fees. On notification or evidence of redemption the court must immediately stay the writ or the proceedings and allow at least 5 days for filings; if the writ has already been posted, a request to stay it must be filed, and the landlord may ask the court to wait until any checks have cleared. Once redemption is shown, the court vacates the judgment of possession and terminates the writ. An electronic or written check from a charitable organization or government entity counts as the tenant's payment. The right is unavailable to a tenant against whom 2 judgments of possession for nonpayment were entered in the 18 months before the action, and a judgment vacated by redemption still counts toward that number. Method-of-payment limits mirror § 5502(d) (lease-accepted forms before judgment; certified check or money order after), except that a charitable or government payment may not be restricted.

PLEADING: § 5707(4) requires a copy of the written notice to be attached to the complaint as an exhibit; § 5707(5) allows a money judgment for rent due only if the notice of complaint conspicuously states that the demand was made.
Lease-violation notice period 7 days
Lease-violation notice rules (cure vs. termination)

The same 7 days serve as both the cure window and the point after which the landlord may terminate and sue for possession; Delaware has no separate, longer termination date. Weekends and legal holidays are counted, because this period is not shorter than 7 days.

ONE NUMBER, NOT TWO. Delaware's cure-or-quit statute, 25 Del. C. § 5513(a), carries a single day-figure: "If the tenant breaches any rule or covenant which is material to the rental agreement, the landlord shall notify the tenant of such breach in writing, and shall allow at least 7 days after such notice for remedy or correction of the breach." § 5513(a)(1) supplies the termination trigger using the same figure: the notice must "advise the tenant that, if the violation continues after 7 days, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement and bring an action for summary possession." Delaware did not adopt the URLTA 30/14 shape (terminate on a date not less than 30 days after receipt if not remedied in 14); there is no separate, longer statutory termination date. THE 7-DAY FIGURE SHOWN HERE IS the day after which the tenancy may be terminated under the notice, which in Delaware coincides with the last day to cure.

DAY UNIT: 7 is not "less than 7 days," so under § 5112 intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays are COUNTED for this period; only the day-of-notice exclusion and the last-day rollover (if day 7 is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday the period runs to the end of the next non-holiday weekday) apply. The 7-day nonpayment notice (§ 5502) has counted the same way since September 1, 2026, when it went from 5 days to 7; contrast the 5-day service floor (§ 5705(a)) and the 5-day appeal window (§ 5717), both of which DO exclude intermediate weekends and holidays. The notice figures and the appeal figure shown on this page are therefore in different day units.

NOTICE CONTENT (§ 5513(a)(1)): must "substantially specify the rule allegedly breached"; must state that it is given pursuant to § 5513; and must state that if the tenant commits a substantially similar breach within 1 year the landlord may rely on that notice as grounds for summary possession. REPEAT-VIOLATION ESCALATION (§ 5513(a)(1)): a substantially similar breach within 1 year needs no new 7-day cure period - the landlord may file on the strength of the earlier notice. Issuing the notice does not itself establish that the initial breach occurred.

NO-CURE VARIANTS: § 5513(a)(3) - if the breach also constitutes a material breach of an obligation imposed on tenants by a municipal, county or state code, ordinance or statute, "the landlord may terminate the rental agreement and bring an action for summary possession" with no 7-day cure. § 5513(b) - irreparable harm and qualifying criminal convictions terminate without notice period (see unconditional_quit_grounds). § 5513(a) expressly does not reach late rent, which is governed by § 5502.

LANDLORD SELF-REMEDY (§ 5513(a)(2)): where the breach can be remedied by the landlord (cleaning, repair, replacement), the landlord may do so and bill actual and reasonable costs as additional rent, due immediately on receipt.

WHAT COUNTS AS MATERIAL NONCOMPLIANCE: § 5503 (statutory tenant obligations, including not tampering with a working smoke or carbon monoxide detector); § 5511(a) (a landlord rule binds only if it promotes health, safety, quiet, private enjoyment, welfare, peace and order, preservation of the landlord's property and fair distribution of services; was brought to the tenant's attention at entry into the agreement; is reasonably related to its purpose; applies fairly to all tenants; is sufficiently explicit; and, if added later and working a substantial modification of the lease, was consented to in writing); § 5507(c) (using the unit other than as the tenant's abode is a § 5511 rule breach).

PLEADING BURDEN (§ 5708): a lease-violation complaint must additionally set forth the rule or lease provision breached, the date and manner in which it was made known to the tenant plus a copy as initially provided, the specific facts of the breach and that the required notice or warning was given, facts constituting a continued or recurrent violation, the purpose served by the rule, and - for a rule not part of the original agreement - that it does not substantially modify the tenant's bargain or that the tenant knowingly consented in writing.

SECOND DOCUMENT, SAME CLOCK: § 5606(3) requires the right-to-representation informational materials to be provided when the § 5513 notice is given (§ 5602(b)(1)b).

NARROW SEPARATE SCHEME INSIDE THE CODE (§ 5512): where the building is the landlord's primary residence, no more than 3 rooms are rented and no more than 3 tenants occupy it, a written rental agreement for a single room "may be terminated immediately upon notice to the tenant for a tenant's material violation of a regulation which has been given to a tenant at the time of contract or lease," and where there is no written lease, "either 15 days after written notice to the tenant of a breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment of similar conduct, or 30 days after written notice for any other reason." Those 15/30 figures govern only that narrow rooming case, not the general 7-day rule.

ENDING THE TERM WITHOUT A VIOLATION: § 5106(c) requires a minimum of 60 days' written notice before the expiration of a term rental agreement (either party); § 5106(d) requires a minimum of 60 days' written notice for month-to-month, with the 60-day period beginning on the first day of the month following the day of actual notice. § 5107 governs renewal with modified terms (60 days' notice by the landlord; tenant must reject at least 45 days before the last day of the term).
Unconditional-quit grounds 25 Del. C. § 5513(b): "When a breach by a tenant causes or threatens to cause irreparable harm to any person or property, or the tenant is convicted of a class A misdemeanor or felony during the term of the tenancy which caused or threatened to cause irreparable harm to any person or property, the landlord may, without notice, remedy the breach and bill the tenant as provided in subsection (a) of this section; immediately terminate the rental agreement upon notice to the tenant and bring an action for summary possession; or do both." No cure period; a termination notice is still required but takes effect immediately. § 5702(9) makes it an independent ground for summary possession that "[t]he tenant is convicted of a class A misdemeanor or any felony during the term of tenancy which caused or threatened to cause irreparable harm to any person or property." § 5513(a)(3): a breach that is also a material breach of a municipal, county or state code, ordinance or statute - terminate and file, no 7-day cure. § 5702(1): holdover after expiration of the rental agreement without the landlord's (or an entitled new tenant's) permission. § 5702(6): the tenant "holds over for more than 5 days after the property has been duly sold upon the foreclosure of a mortgage and the title has been duly perfected." § 5702(8): the tenant refuses to yield a unit rendered partially or wholly unusable by fire or casualty where the landlord requires possession to effect repairs. § 5702(5): employer-provided housing - a tenant employee who holds over more than 30 days after dismissal, or more than 15 days after dismissal for cause (and § 5123(a) requires the landlord-employer, unless the termination was for cause, to offer a written rental agreement within 5 business days of termination of employment). § 5512: immediate termination on notice in the narrow owner-occupied, 3-rooms-or-fewer rooming case for a material violation of a regulation given at the time of contract. § 5702(3): wrongful deduction of money from the agreed rent (see § 5308(d) for the damages-or-possession election where rent was wrongfully withheld or deducted). EXPEDITED TRACK: § 5115 - where the landlord "alleges and by substantial evidence demonstrates to the Court that a tenant has caused substantial or irreparable harm to landlord's person or property," the Justice of the Peace Court "shall issue a forthwith summons to expedite the Court's consideration." § 5702A(c)(2) exempts § 5115 and § 5513(b)/(c) proceedings, and cases where the landlord shows substantial or irreparable harm by substantial evidence, from the otherwise mandatory eviction diversion mediation. LIMIT: § 5516 makes a summary possession action a prohibited retaliatory act if brought after a good-faith code complaint, a government notice of violation, tenant organizing, or the tenant's pursuit of a legal right, and § 5516(c) presumes retaliation where the action is instituted within 90 days of the protected act (defenses in § 5516(d)).
Court and action Court: the Justice of the Peace Court. Action: an "action for summary possession" under 25 Del. C. ch. 57. Jurisdiction is exclusive, not concurrent: § 5701 provides that the action "shall be maintained in the Justice of the Peace Court which hears civil cases in the county in which the premises or commercial rental unit is located," and where more than 1 Justice of the Peace Court in a county hears civil cases, in the court "that possesses territorial jurisdiction over the area in which the premises or commercial unit is located," with territorial boundaries fixed by court rule (§ 5701A). Delaware has three counties (New Castle, Kent, Sussex). Governing procedural rules: the Rules Governing Civil Practice in the Justice of the Peace Court (Justice of the Peace Court Rules of Civil Procedure, effective June 15, 2000), notably R. 3 (commencement by complaint and praecipe), R. 4 (service, including the summary-possession posting-plus-mailing alternative), R. 6 (time), R. 55 (default), R. 60(b) (relief from judgment) and R. 72.1 (appeals in summary possession cases). Commenced by filing a complaint for possession (§ 5704(a)); the court issues the process specified in the praecipe and causes service of the complaint together with a notice stating the time and place of the hearing (§ 5704(b)); a special process server may be appointed on motion (§ 5704(c)). Complaint contents: §§ 5707, 5708. Answer may be oral or written at the hearing and may include any legal or equitable defense or counterclaim not exceeding the court's jurisdiction (§ 5709); § 5711(b) preserves an action or counterclaim for affirmative equitable relief commenced within 60 days of judgment where the court's limited jurisdiction prevented it. Jury trial is available in summary possession (unusual for this court): the plaintiff may demand it at commencement and the defendant within 10 days after being served; 6 jurors are appointed by the justice from the Superior Court jury list (§ 5713). APPEAL DOES NOT GO TO THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS. Under § 5717(a) a nonjury judgment is reviewed by trial de novo before "a special court comprised of 3 justices of the peace other than the justice of the peace who presided at the trial"; under § 5717(c) a jury judgment is reviewed on the record by a 3-justice appellate panel. J.P. Ct. Civ. R. 72 routes other appeals to the Court of Common Pleas; R. 72.1 carves out summary possession. MANDATORY POST-FILING MEDIATION: § 5702A establishes the residential eviction diversion program run by the Justice of the Peace Court or its designee (initial mediation conference, HUD-certified housing counselor or approved representative for the tenant). TENANT RIGHT TO COUNSEL: ch. 56 creates a right to legal representation for tenants at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines in eviction and related proceedings (§ 5602), qualified by funding and by a phase-in "ending no later than June 30, 2028" (§§ 5602(e), 5607(a)); it does not apply where the landlord owns 3 or fewer rental units and is unrepresented (§ 5602(a)(2)a). RECORD SHIELDING: § 5720 (added by 85 Del. Laws, c. 106, effective January 29, 2026) lets an eviction defendant move to shield the record on seven enumerated grounds, with no filing fee.
Filing to hearing The statutory window runs from SERVICE, not from filing, and is bounded at both ends. 25 Del. C. § 5705(a): "The notice of hearing and the complaint shall be served at least 5 days and not more than 30 days before the time at which the complaint is to be heard." The court, not the parties, sets the hearing date when it issues process (§ 5704(b)). Proof of service must be filed before the hearing and "in no event later than 5 days after service" (§ 5705(b)); manner of service is § 5704 or § 5706 (§ 5705(c)), and service under § 5706 "shall be considered actual or statutory notice" (§ 5706(d)). The 5-day floor is business/judicial days: 5 is "less than 7 days," so § 5112 and J.P. Ct. Civ. R. 6(a) exclude intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays. MEDIATION OVERLAY - this is the step a generic template misses. § 5702A(c)(1): "after a landlord has filed an action for possession under this chapter, the case is to be scheduled for mediation. Mediation is to be scheduled during the period between filing and trial. A trial may not commence until the landlord has engaged in mediation, except in cases where a tenant fails to engage in mediation within 15 calendar days after service of process. Mediation must be scheduled and completed at least 48 hours before the trial date." A tenant's failure to engage or complete mediation may not delay scheduling or commencement of trial. So the earliest lawful trial date is the later of (i) 5 business days after service, (ii) completion of mediation plus 48 hours, and (iii) where the tenant never engages, 15 calendar days after service of process. Exempt from the program: proceedings under §§ 5115 or 5513(b)/(c), and cases where the landlord alleges and by substantial evidence demonstrates that the tenant has caused or threatens substantial or irreparable harm (§ 5702A(c)(2)). § 5710 lets the court adjourn the trial on either party's application on proof that an adjournment is necessary to procure witnesses or evidence, "but not more than 10 days, except by consent of all parties." PENDING (NOT LAW): H.B. 229 of the 153rd General Assembly would widen the § 5705(a) window from "5 and 30 days" to "5 and 90 days"; as of 2026-07-25 it has sat in the House Housing Committee since June 26, 2025 and no Laws of Delaware chapter is assigned.
Writ of possession and lockout Instrument: a "writ of possession" (25 Del. C. § 5715), directed to the constable or the sheriff of the county in which the property is located, "commanding the officer to remove all persons and put the plaintiff into full possession." § 5716 calls the post-stay instrument a "warrant of possession." EARLIEST ISSUANCE: § 5715(a) - "[u]pon rendering a final judgment for plaintiff, but in no case prior to the expiration of the time for the filing of an appeal or motion to vacate or open the judgment." § 5717(d) is explicit: "The Court shall not issue the writ of possession during the 5-day appeal period." After that period the court may issue the writ at the plaintiff's request even if the defendant filed an appeal, so long as the defendant filed no bond or other assurance and no in forma pauperis request to stay issuance; but if the plaintiff executes before the appeal is decided and the appellant ultimately prevails, the plaintiff owes reasonable cover damages (including substitute housing or relocation costs) for the period of dispossession, plus court costs and fees (§ 5717(d)). On a DEFAULT judgment the relevant window appears to be the 10 days allowed by § 5712(b) for a motion to vacate, not 5 days (see notes). EXECUTION: § 5715(b) - the officer "shall give at least 24 hours' notice to the person or persons to be removed and shall execute it between the hours of sunrise and sunset." § 5715(c) puts the burden on the plaintiff to notify the constable to take the steps necessary to put the plaintiff in possession. EFFECT: § 5715(d) - issuance of the writ cancels the agreement under which the removed person held the premises and annuls the landlord-tenant relationship; the plaintiff may still recover sums payable when the action was commenced plus the reasonable value of use and occupation to the time the writ issued and for periods the agreement does not cover. § 5715(g) preserves a claim for rent due under the lease but imposes a duty (and burden of proof) of diligence in re-renting. TENANT PROPERTY: if the tenant fails to remove property at execution, the landlord may immediately remove and store it for 7 days at the tenant's expense; unclaimed and unreimbursed property is then deemed abandoned and may be disposed of without further notice (§ 5715(e)). Where an appeal has been filed, storage runs until 7 days after the appeal is decided (§ 5715(f)). Prescribed "NOTICE WHERE NO APPEAL FILED" / "NOTICE WHERE APPEAL HAS BEEN FILED" language must appear on the writ. Manufactured homes on rented lots under ch. 70 have their own 24-hour / 7-calendar-day-with-prepaid-storage and 30-day storage rules (out of scope here). LOCK CHANGE DUTY: § 5715(h) - on actual repossession, if the premises are to be further leased, the plaintiff must have the locks changed and is liable to a new tenant whose person or property is injured by entry gained with a key the dispossessed tenant still holds. POST-JUDGMENT STAY: § 5716 - where a nonpayment judgment's default arose out of a good faith dispute, the tenant may stay all proceedings by paying all rent due at the date of judgment plus costs, or by filing an undertaking to pay within 10 days; at the expiration of that period the court issues the warrant of possession unless satisfactory proof of payment is produced.
Appeal window 5 days
Best-case uncontested timeline (derived from statutory minimums — contested cases run longer)

About 27 calendar days from the rent due date to the earliest lawful lockout in an uncontested nonpayment case, and normally longer in practice because of the mandatory mediation step and Justice of the Peace Court docketing. That is a floor built from statutory minimums, not an average; contested cases run materially longer, and a tenant who redeems under § 5716A ends the case before the writ is executed.

(0) The late-fee window (§ 5501(d)): since September 1, 2026 the § 5502(a) demand may issue only after "the time period between the date the rent is due and the date under this Code when late fees may be imposed" - a late charge may not be imposed within 5 days of the agreed payment date, so the demand waits until day 6 at the earliest (day 9 where the landlord keeps no in-county place of payment). Before September 1, 2026 the demand could issue the day rent was due. (1) § 5502(a) notice: 7 days (5 days before September 1, 2026), counted in calendar days because 7 is not "less than 7 days" under § 5112 - only the day-of-notice exclusion and the weekend-or-holiday rollover of the last day apply. (2) File the complaint (§ 5704(a)); the court issues process and sets the hearing. (3) § 5705(a) service floor: at least 5 days before the hearing, business days under § 5112 - about 7 calendar days. (4) Mandatory pre-trial step (§ 5702A(c)(1)): mediation must be scheduled between filing and trial and completed at least 48 hours before trial, and trial may not commence until the landlord has engaged in mediation; if the tenant never engages, trial may proceed only after 15 calendar days from service of process. Omitting this step understates the real minimum. (5) Judgment; no writ may issue during the 5-day appeal period (§§ 5715(a), 5717(d)) - again business days, about 7 calendar days. On a default judgment the § 5712(b) 10-day motion-to-vacate window appears to control instead. (6) Writ of possession to the constable or sheriff; at least 24 hours' notice, executed between sunrise and sunset (§ 5715(b)).

Arithmetic on the bare statutory figures: 5 + 7 + 5 + 5 + 1 = 23 days from the due date. Because two of those periods are business-day periods under § 5112, the honest calendar floor is roughly 5 + 7 + 7 + 7 + 1 = about 27 calendar days from the due date - about 5 days longer than under the pre-September 2026 text, whose 5-business-day notice could issue the day rent was due (that notice was itself about 7 calendar days, so the 7-day calendar figure did not lengthen the notice; the late-fee wait did) - and the § 5702A mediation requirement plus Justice of the Peace Court docketing normally makes the practical minimum longer; a tenant who simply ignores mediation pushes the earliest trial to 15 calendar days after service. For a LEASE-VIOLATION case there is no late-fee wait and the § 5513 notice is 7 calendar days, so the floor is about 22 calendar days from the notice. Add time for a § 5710 adjournment (up to 10 days), a § 5713 jury demand, a § 5716 good-faith-dispute stay (10 days), a § 5716A redemption (the court stays the writ or proceedings, allows at least 5 days for filings, and vacates the judgment once redemption is shown), or a § 5717 appeal (the 3-judge panel must render final judgment within 15 days of a request for trial de novo).
Self-help eviction (lockout, utility shutoff) barred Yes
Self-help scope and tenant remedies

Two statutes carry the bar. Section 5312(e) forbids the landlord to discontinue or terminate utility service for nonpayment or any other breach, and § 5313 makes removing or excluding a tenant lawful only under color of a valid court order, with treble damages for a violation.

One of the two is an express prohibition directed at the landlord. UTILITIES - 25 Del. C. § 5312(e), final sentence: "A landlord shall not discontinue or terminate utility service for nonpayment of rent, utility charges or other breach." § 5308 separately makes substantial failure to provide hot water, heat, water or electricity for 48 hours or more after notice a ground for the tenant to terminate immediately, to withhold two-thirds per diem rent, or to procure substitute housing with the landlord liable for additional expense up to half the abated rent.

OUSTER / LOCKOUT - § 5313 ("Unlawful ouster or exclusion of tenant"): "If removed from the premises or excluded therefrom by the landlord or the landlord's agent, except under color of a valid court order authorizing such removal or exclusion, the tenant may recover possession or terminate the rental agreement. The tenant may also recover treble the damages sustained or an amount equal to 3 times the per diem rent for the period of time the tenant was excluded from the unit, whichever is greater, and the costs of the suit excluding attorneys' fees." The "except under color of a valid court order" clause and the section heading make removal or exclusion without a court order unlawful on the face of the statute; the treble-damages provision is the remedy, not the source of the bar.

ENFORCEMENT ROUTES: § 5702(7) makes it a ground for summary possession that "[t]he rightful tenant of the rental unit has been wrongfully ousted," and § 5703(3) lets "[t]he tenant who has been wrongfully put out or kept out" initiate the proceeding, so an ousted tenant uses the same summary action to get back in; § 5711(c) allows a fixed sum as damages in addition to costs where the proceeding is founded on forcible entry or forcible holding out.

ONLY LAWFUL ROUTE TO POSSESSION: a § 5715 writ of possession executed by the constable or sheriff, after 24 hours' notice, between sunrise and sunset.

NON-WAIVABLE: § 5301(a)(1) forbids a rental agreement provision under which the tenant "[a]grees to waive or forego rights or remedies under this Code"; such a provision is unenforceable and a landlord who knowingly attempts to enforce one owes an amount equal to 3 months' rent plus costs (§ 5301(b)). § 5120 abolishes the landlord's right of distress for rent and makes unperfected landlord liens on tenant personal property unenforceable. § 5121 voids confession-of-judgment clauses. § 5310 prohibits "assurance money." § 5516 prohibits retaliatory acts, with a 90-day presumption.

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Delaware Eviction Process Laws (verified September 5, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/eviction-process/delaware/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Everything above is cited in the citations section below.

Notes and caveats

Common questions: Delaware eviction process

Each answer is the verified value from the table above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.

How much notice does a landlord have to give before filing an eviction for unpaid rent in Delaware?
7 days. Since September 1, 2026 the written demand may issue only after the late-fee window has run - the amended statute lets the landlord demand payment "any time after the time period between the date the rent is due and the date under this Code when late fees may be imposed" - and the days then run from the date the notice was given or sent. The period is 7 days, and because § 5112 drops intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays only from periods "less than 7 days," the 7-day notice counts calendar days: only the day-of-notice exclusion and the last-day rollover apply.
How much notice is required to evict for a lease violation in Delaware?
7 days. The same 7 days serve as both the cure window and the point after which the landlord may terminate and sue for possession; Delaware has no separate, longer termination date. Weekends and legal holidays are counted, because this period is not shorter than 7 days.
How long does an eviction take in Delaware?
About 27 calendar days from the rent due date to the earliest lawful lockout in an uncontested nonpayment case, and normally longer in practice because of the mandatory mediation step and Justice of the Peace Court docketing. That is a floor built from statutory minimums, not an average; contested cases run materially longer, and a tenant who redeems under § 5716A ends the case before the writ is executed.
How long does a tenant have to appeal an eviction judgment in Delaware?
5 days.
Can a landlord change the locks or shut off utilities instead of going to court in Delaware?
No — Delaware bars self-help eviction by statute; a landlord must go through the court process. Two statutes carry the bar. Section 5312(e) forbids the landlord to discontinue or terminate utility service for nonpayment or any other breach, and § 5313 makes removing or excluding a tenant lawful only under color of a valid court order, with treble damages for a violation.

Citations

How this record was verified: Direct read of statute text on the official Delaware Code site (delcode.delaware.gov), each section these answers rest on read twice through independent official paths: the delcode HTML chapter pages (25 Del. C. ch. 51 subchapters I-II, ch. 53, ch. 55) and the official Title 25 PDF served from the same host, with every decisive figure matching verbatim (1-month deposit cap and its 1-year-lease / month-to-month-after-1-year scope; 20-day return and itemized-list deadline with 10-day tenant objection window; double damages and account-forfeiture penalties; 1-month pet deposit cap; application-fee cap at the greater of 10% or $50; 5% late-charge cap with the 5-day no-imposition window and 3-day extension for no in-county payment office; 48-hour entry notice and the 8:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. window; 60-day renewal-with-modifications notice with the 45-day tenant rejection right; 60-day month-to-month termination notice with the first-of-following-month start). Sections read in full: 5101, 5102, 5106, 5107, 5108, 5116, 5123, 5124, 5141, 5310, 5311, 5501, 5502, 5509, 5510, 5514, 5514A, 5515, plus complete section listings of ch. 51 subch. I, ch. 53, and ch. 55 as sweep basis for verified negatives (no deposit-interest requirement, no other late-fee or entry provision, no rent-increase tiers or frequency limits, no rent-control preemption statute in Title 25). The Delaware Attorney General's official Summary of the Residential Landlord-Tenant Code corroborates the 60-day rent-increase-notice reading of section 5107 for month-to-month tenancies. 2025-2026 session sweep: the complete 153rd General Assembly docket (all 1,961 pieces of legislation) was retrieved from the official legis.delaware.gov AllLegislation API and title-filtered; one on-topic enactment incorporated (HB 217, 85 Del. Laws c. 295, key-surrender rules, signed 2026-06-24), two passed bills awaiting the Governor flagged (SB 235, SB 292), and three on-topic bills confirmed dead at the 2026-06-30 sine die adjournment (SB 186 deposit e-communications, HB 229 summary-possession service window, HB 467 renters insurance). HB 455 (152nd GA statewide rent cap) confirmed dead in committee in 2024. Wilmington's 2025 rent-stabilization ordinance confirmed failed 6-5 in City Council on 2025-06-05.