Decision guides
Page last updated: September 3, 2026 · How we source & update
Five process maps for the situations renters most often face. Each one shows the stages in order, what each stage means, and what to do at that stage — and each one deliberately contains no deadlines or dollar figures, because those are set where you live.
First step, today: find yourself on the map below, then do the "what to do" line for that one stage. Do not skip ahead — each stage creates the record the next one needs.
Where this comes from: this is a process map, not a rule. It contains no deadlines and no dollar figures, because those are set by your state, city, lease and housing type — your state page carries the sourced rule with its citation and review status. This wording has not been attorney-reviewed.
The stages
The diagram above is decorative. Everything it shows is written out below, in the same order — that list is the real content, and it is what screen readers, printers and text browsers get.
Eviction stages: where you are, and what happens next
A stage-by-stage map of a U.S. eviction — notice, filing, hearing, judgment, writ — what each stage means and what to do at it. No deadlines; your sta
Repair escalation: what to do, in what order
The order that makes repair problems solvable: written request, second notice, code enforcement, legal aid — and why rent-based remedies come last.
Security deposit: the evidence timeline, move-in to refund
What to capture at move-in, during the tenancy, at move-out and after — the evidence that decides deposit disputes, including the forwarding-address s
Leaving before the lease ends: which exit applies to you
Four routes out of a lease — term ending, mutual agreement, a statutory right, or breaking it — and the questions that decide which one you are on.
Landlord entry: what to do, in order
What to do when a landlord enters without notice: the entry log, the written objection, and where repeated entry stops being entry and becomes harassm
Branches and exceptions this map does not decide for you
- These are process maps, not legal rules. They tell you where you are and what the next decision is; they do not tell you what the law says where you live.
When this is urgent
Your state fills in the numbers
Every deadline, cap and remedy this map deliberately leaves blank is set where you live. The state page carries the rule we have sourced, its official citation, and whether it has been reviewed.
Change log & methodology
September 3, 2026 — created (RS-WEB-AUTHORITY-ACTIVATION-006). Built as stages rather than advice: each node states where you are and what the next decision is, and stops short of choosing for you where the choice is legally consequential. No statutory number appears anywhere on this page by design. Corrections: tell us.