2024 Eviction Process in Kansas: Laws for Landlords & Property Managers

The eviction process in Kansas can differ from county to county, but they more or less are the same:

• Send a clear written notice
• Fill out the forms
• Serve the documents
• Attend the trial
• Wait for judgment

This article details a summary for Kansas landlords to refer to when evicting a tenant. Alternatively, a landlord can ask an attorney for legal advice or help if they have any questions on landlord-tenant rights.

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Now, let’s dive in. 

Eviction Reasons

A state of Kansas eviction notice states a tenant's violation and whether or not a tenant can fix the issue. The notice period depends on the reason they are being evicted. It can be a 3-Day Notice or last as long as a 30-Day Notice.

This form is important because, without it, the tenants may easily win the case.

1. Failure to pay rent or nonpayment of rent

The most common reason for starting an eviction process is failure to make a timely rent payment. A landlord can evict a tenant for failing to pay the rent due.

Rent is considered late in Kansas a day past its due. However, a grace period that gives more time to pay rent due may be available if indicated in the lease/rental agreement.

Before a landlord can start with the eviction process for not paying rent, the landlord must provide the tenant a written notice called a 3-Day Notice to Quit. This notice informs the renters that they must move out of the property or pay the rent in 3 days.

A notice for nonpayment of rent indicates the rent amount owed by the tenant.

If tenants who are being evicted for failing to pay rent on time manage to pay all rental payments in full to the landlord before the 3 days are up, the entire eviction process stops, and they can continue staying within the rental premises.

2. Violation of the lease/rental agreement

Lease terms can vary between tenants. Landlords and tenants are required to uphold the terms of the lease agreement at all times.

The landlord can evict the tenant for a lease violation in Kansas. Even if the tenant has just violated one term, they can still be evicted.

The landlord must give the tenant a Kansas eviction notice called a 30-Day Notice to Comply, which provides the tenant with 14 days to fix the issue.

Lease violations include:

• Illegal activity
• Damage to the rental unit
• Material health/safety violations
• Too many people are living inside the rental unit
• Housing a pet in a pet-free rental unit or rental premises, etc.

The landlord may continue filing for an eviction suit if the tenant fails to resolve the lease term violation or issues within 14 days and remains inside the rental unit after what's left of the 30 days.

3. Non-renewal of lease after the end of the rental period

A Kansas eviction process does not allow a landlord to evict a tenant without good cause. As long as the tenant does not violate any rules, they can stay until their rental period ends.

However, tenants can be evicted if they stay in the property even a day after their written lease ends (and have not arranged for a renewal).

This type of eviction notice usually only applies if the landlord wants to end tenancies. The required notice time given to a tenant depends on their tenancy type. The different forms include a 7-Day Notice to Quit or a 30-Day Notice to Quit.

Should the tenant remain in the rental premises even after their notice period ends, the landlord may continue to file for eviction lawsuit in order to evict the tenant from the property.

To download your own Kansas lease agreement, visit DoorLoop's Forms Page to quickly download an example lease agreement.

Filing a Complaint

In a Kansas eviction, after the notice period has passed, the landlord may file a complaint. Successful evictions rely on correct filings, so the landlord must file all the forms correctly. While filling out all the forms, the landlord has the option to indicate the amount in damages owed by the tenant.

1. Steps in filing

• Proceed to the justice court the rental property belongs to
• Fill out the forms
• Pay the filing fees

2. Timeline

It takes between 3 days to 30 days before a landlord can file a complaint. This depends on the notice given to the tenant.

<table style="width:100%"><tr><th>Lease Agreement / Type of Tenancy</th><th>Eviction Notice to Receive</th></tr><tr><td>Weekly Tenancy</td><td>7-Day Notice to Quit</td></tr><tr><td>Monthly Tenancy</td><td>30-Day Notice to Quit</td></tr></table>

Serving the Tenant

Next up in the Kansas eviction process is serving the Summons and Complaint to the tenant. The landlord must not serve this document themselves. The document should contain information such as the date and time of the court trial.

The state of Kansas allows the sheriff to serve the document. It has to be delivered at least 3 days before the eviction hearing is scheduled.

Notice to Comply

Before filing for an eviction with the court, you need to issue the tenant a notice to comply. You can either download the free PDF or Word template, or create your Kansas eviction notice from here using a step-by-step wizard that guides you through the entire process to make sure you are submitting the legally correct notice.

Keep in mind, the step-by-step wizard will ask you to pay a small fee at the end - it's a small price to pay to ensure legal compliance and protection. The last thing you want is to go to court only to find out you did the first process incorrect.

1. How to serve the document to a tenant

The Summons and its corresponding documents have to be served through one of the following methods:

• Personal Service: The Summons and Complaint is served to the tenant in person.
• Substituted Service: If the tenant is unavailable and personal service cannot be conducted, a copy of the Summons and Complaint may be left at the tenant's place of residence or rental unit with someone who lives with them.
• Posting & Mailing Service: A copy of the Summons is placed in a secure and visible position by the entrance of the tenant's rented property. When using this method, a notice must be mailed via first class mail that informs the tenant the Summons was posted on their property.
• Mailing Service: The server mails the documents via certified mail or any other mailing service and requests a return receipt.

2. After serving the Summons and Complaint

The tenant has the option to file for their written answer if they object to the reason for eviction. Or, they can just decide to attend the initial hearing.

3. Timeline

The Summons and Complaint must be served at least 3 days before eviction proceedings begin.

Asking for Possession

1. Filing a Motion to Obtain Judgment and get a Judgment for Possession

A landlord has to provide a strong argument backed up by solid evidence against their tenant in order to win. Should the tenant fail to show up to the hearing, the landlord may win by default.

2. Next procedure if the tenant disagreed and filed an answer

The initial hearing is scheduled 3-14 days after the Summons was issued. During the court hearing, the landlord has to support their claim with evidence and show it to the judicial officer. This includes, but is not limited by the following:

• Copy of the deed and the lease/rental agreement
• Rent receipts
• Rent ledgers
• Bank statements
• Witness statements
• Photo and video documentation of the violations committed by the tenant

An eviction hearing is scheduled within 14 days after the initial hearing if the judicial officer cannot make a ruling (such as actual damages owed). The tenant has to pay a bond should they want to file for continuance.

3. Timeline

An initial hearing is scheduled within 3-14 days after the Summons was issued. An eviction hearing is scheduled within 14 days after the initial hearing.

Getting Possession

1. After the landlord wins the case and gets a Writ of Restitution.

Once the landlord wins the case and provided the tenant does not file for an appeal or reconsideration, the court will issue a Writ of Restitution upon the landlord's request.

The Writ of Restitution is a court order which informs the tenant that they must move out of their housing on the property within 14 days. If the tenant fails to do so, the laws followed by an eviction action require them to be forcibly evicted.

It also permits law enforcement officials to evict the tenant from the property forcibly.

2. Move out process

This final step in the eviction process is to move the tenant out of their housing on the property. The state of Kansas gives a tenant a maximum of 14 days to move out of the rental unit.

Only law enforcement officers can remove the tenant from the property by force. Landlords who attempt to remove the tenant themselves may be charged with a self-help eviction.

3. Timeline

The tenant has a maximum of 14 days to vacate the property, or else they will be forcibly removed.

Kansas Eviction Timeline

It takes an average of 3 weeks to 3 months for a complete eviction process in Kansas.

<table style="width:100%"><tr><th>Steps of the Eviction Process</th><th>Average Timeline</th></tr><tr><td>Issuing an Official Notice</td><td>3 days-30 days </td></tr><tr><td>Issuance and Service of Summons and Complaint</td><td>3 days before the hearing </td></tr><tr><td>Court Hearing and Judgment</td><td>3-14 days (initial hearing), 14 days (eviction hearing)</td></tr><tr><td>Issuance of Writ of Execution</td><td>A few hours to a few days</td></tr><tr><td>Return of Rental Unit</td><td>14 days</td></tr></table>

Showing Evidence

1. How to keep good records

If the tenant disagrees with the eviction request and they reply to the court, it’s important that you keep extremely good records of everything so you can provide proof to the judge and win your case. This part can make or break your entire eviction request in the event of a dispute.

You can stay organized by:

• Keeping a physical paper trail - This gets VERY hard to search through, takes up a lot of storage space, and could get lost, damaged, stolen, or burnt in a fire.
• Scanning documents - Scan every document into your computer. Some great scanners are the Brother ADS-1700W for under $200 or the Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1500 for $400.
• Backups - Store and backup every file using Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, or any other option that is easily searchable.
• PMS - Use a property management software to save everything from lease agreements, signed documents, violations, emails, notes, invoices, payments, reminders, maintenance requests, pictures, videos, and anything you can imagine. This is used best when you also scan every document into your software.

2. Evidence to show for not paying rent

If the tenant doesn’t pay rent, and they dispute that claim, it’s important that you show the judge the following:

• Your lease agreement - Showing the terms of the agreement, when rent is due, and any penalties for late payment.
• All payments - Showing all previous payments, how they were normally made (check, credit card, ACH, etc…), and what date they were normally paid on.
• Any payment returns - If their check bounced, their bank account had insufficient funds, or they did a chargeback dispute on their credit card, show this to the Judge. Also show any fees your bank may have charged you, and any penalties you are owed according to your lease agreement.
• All messages - If you sent your tenant automated or manual payment reminders by text, email, a letter, or mail, it’s important to show this. While it’s usually not needed, it’s still good to show that they were aware of the situation and were given time to cure and make payment. This is why it’s always best to have everything in writing instead of any phone calls or face-to-face meetings.

3. Evidence to show for lease violations

If you are evicting the tenant for lease violations, for example, noise complaints, unauthorized pets, or property damages, it’s important to show proof from any of the following methods:

• Security Cameras - If you have a surveillance system that can show them committing the crime or lease violation,you have a very good chance of winning the case.
• Video - If you didn’t catch them in the act, the next best thing is to record a video with your phone of any damages or the lease violation.
• Pictures - They say a picture is worth a thousand words. In this case, a picture could be worth thousands of dollars! Even if you take a video, it’s important to show the Judge any pictures too as it’s usually easier to see by email or printed.
• Lease Terms - Once again, show the court which term they violated in their lease agreement. Don’t worry if you don’t have every single term spelled out in your rental agreement. If the violation is bad enough, it might not be needed to have it written. As a good practice though, start adding all of the potential reasons to evict a tenant into your agreement.