Facing Eviction in Delaware: What Can I Do?
This page covers what happens in Delaware after a landlord gives an eviction notice or files court papers. It follows the steps from the notice to the court case to the end of the case. It uses Delaware's Residential Landlord-Tenant Code.
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For unpaid rent, your Delaware landlord can demand payment in writing. The notice must give you a deadline of at least 7 days after the notice was given or sent. If you stay in default after that, your landlord may bring an action for summary possession (an eviction case).
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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If you break a rule or promise that is material (important) to your rental agreement, your Delaware landlord must tell you in writing. The landlord must allow at least 7 days after the notice for you to correct it. Late rent has its own notice.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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In Delaware, you or another person or group may pay all rent due before your landlord starts a court action. Then your landlord may not start an eviction case based on that unpaid rent. Your landlord may not refuse the payment. Your landlord may limit payment to the methods the lease accepts.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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After your landlord files a complaint for possession in Delaware, the court serves you with the complaint. You also get a notice of the hearing time and place. The notice says what happens if you do not appear and defend. You may be barred from raising any defense or claim based on it later in any other proceeding or action.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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Delaware gives some tenants a right to legal representation in an eviction case. Whether you qualify depends on your household income over the past 12 months and on other rules in the law. The right depends on whether legal representation is available.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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In most Delaware eviction cases, the case is to be scheduled for mediation (a meeting to try to reach an agreement) after your landlord files. Mediation is scheduled between filing and trial. It must be completed at least 48 hours before the trial date.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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At the time of the hearing in a Delaware eviction case, you may answer the complaint out loud or in writing. An answer can include a defense or a counterclaim (your own claim against the landlord), up to the limit of what the court can decide.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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Say the court enters a default judgment (the court's final decision in your case) against you. You have 10 days to ask the court to cancel it. The court must agree if, after a hearing, it finds you meet the rule in J. P. Civ. R. 60(b). Then the court lets you and your landlord choose a trial before 1 judge or a jury.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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In Delaware, you or someone else may pay all rent due under your lease after your landlord starts a case for unpaid rent. Then your landlord may not keep that case going over the unpaid rent. Before a judgment (the court's final decision), your landlord may limit payment to the methods your lease accepts. After a judgment, your landlord may require a certified check or money order.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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Suppose your landlord asks for or wins a judgment (the court's final decision) for possession in a case about unpaid rent. You then have the right of redemption (the right to pay and keep your home). You pay all past due amounts the court sets. That includes rent due under the lease plus costs and fees the court awards. You can do this any time before the eviction order is carried out. It does not apply if 2 judgments of possession for unpaid rent were entered against you in the 18 months before the case began.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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A party who loses a trial without a jury can ask in writing for a new trial. The request must come within 5 days after the judgment (the court's final decision). Three justices of the peace hear it. Asking does not stop the judgment. To stop it, the party must file a promise to pay costs and rent that build up during the appeal. The court may also require a bond or other assurance.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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After a final judgment (the court's final decision) for the landlord, the court issues a writ of possession (an order to remove people). The court waits until the time to appeal or to ask to change the judgment has ended. It goes to the constable or the sheriff. The officer must give at least 24 hours' notice. The officer must carry it out between sunrise and sunset.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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In Delaware, you can ask the court to shield (hide from the public) the record of an eviction case. The court must grant it if it finds any one of 7 listed reasons. Three examples are that the landlord withdrew the complaint, the court dismissed it, or the final judgment (the court's final decision) was in your favor.
✓ Sources checked October 2, 2026
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