Using a Statement of Inability to Pay (Fee Waiver) to Appeal an Eviction

You only have five days to appeal (including weekends and holidays).

File the following documents at the Justice Court where the initial case was filed.

1. Statement of Inability to Pay Court Costs
2. Answer
3. Verified Notice of Eviction Appeal. You must honestly state that you believe you have a good defense to the eviction, and that you are not appealing to delay.
4. If you intend to stay in the home during the appeal process, your portion of one month’s rent (either the full rent or, if part of your rent was paid with federal funds, the amount of rent you are responsible for)

When you get notice that the County Court has received your case, contact the County Court Clerk to make sure they also received your Answer. If they did not, you will need to file your Answer with the County Court. If the County Court does not get your Answer within eight days of getting your case from the JP Court, they may dismiss your appeal.

If part of your rent was paid with federal funds (public housing subsidized housing, Section 8 rental voucher), make sure the Justice Court’s judgment states the amount paid by the government and the amount to be paid by you. If it is not correct, you must file a written objection in Justice Court within five days of the date of the judgment (weekend days and holidays count).

Filing an objection will not extend the five-day deadline to appeal.

You must still pay rent into the court registry to stay in the home. Rent must be on time. The Justice Court will set the rent amount. Even if you don't normally pay rent, the court must set your rent payments at $250 or the fair market value, whichever is more. (If you are in subsidized housing, you should only be responsible for the amount you normally pay.)

If you don’t pay rent on time each month while the case is on appeal, the court can remove you even before the appeal is heard.

The County Court should hear your appeal within 21 days of getting it from the Justice Court.

If the Justice Court is closed or there is a legal holiday on the fifth day after your eviction judgment, you can file the appeal on the next day that the Justice Court is open.

Also, there is a rule that says if the court is closed before 5:00 PM on the fifth day after your judgment, you can file on next day that the court is open. However, not all courts are aware of this rule so check with the clerk before relying on it.

If you miss the deadline, the judgment stands, and the landlord can get a Writ of Possession to have you and your belongings removed.

If you have the resources, you can appeal by bond or deposit. The five-day deadline is the same, and you must still pay rent each month into the court registry to avoid immediate removal.

See Appealing an Eviction.

You cannot appeal if you miss the deadline. However, if you missed the hearing for a good reason and the court gave a default judgment, you can ask the court to set aside that default judgment. This is a last resort because the court is not required to grant your motion.