Does Chapter 13 Stop an Eviction? Automatic Stay and Exceptions

Filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy does stop most evictions, at least initially, through a federal protection called the automatic stay. Whether that protection holds depends on how far the eviction has already progressed, what the eviction is based on, and whether you keep paying rent after your case begins. Several exceptions can strip the stay away quickly, and one of them catches tenants off guard more than any other: a landlord who already has a judgment for possession.

How the Automatic Stay Halts an Eviction

The moment your Chapter 13 petition is filed, the automatic stay under federal bankruptcy law stops most collection activity, including any pending eviction lawsuit. It blocks a landlord from starting a new eviction, continuing one in progress, or enforcing a removal order.¹ It takes effect automatically, with no separate court order needed.

A landlord who knowingly ignores the stay can be held liable for actual damages, attorney fees, and in some cases punitive damages.¹ The stay lasts for the length of your case, which runs three to five years, unless a creditor convinces the court to lift it.²

If Your Landlord Already Has a Possession Judgment

This is the exception that trips up the most tenants. If your landlord obtained a court judgment for possession before you filed, the automatic stay does not block the eviction on its own.¹ Filing bankruptcy after the judgment has been entered does not, by itself, buy you any time.

There is a narrow path to restore the stay, but it requires two steps on a short clock.

The Initial Certification and Rent Deposit

When you file your petition, you also file and serve on your landlord a certification, signed under penalty of perjury, stating two things: that the law in your jurisdiction allows you to cure the full monetary default even after a possession judgment, and that you have deposited with the bankruptcy court clerk the rent that will come due during the 30 days after filing.¹ If both are true, the stay applies for at least 30 days.

The first point matters: not every state permits a tenant to cure a rental default after a possession judgment is entered. If your state does not allow it, this remedy is closed to you.

The Second Certification

Within that same 30-day window, you must file a second certification stating, again under penalty of perjury, that you have cured the entire monetary default behind the judgment. That means paying all past-due rent in full within 30 days of filing. If you file the second certification and the landlord does not object, the stay stays in place.¹

Skip the second certification, or fail to pay the full amount, and the stay drops away. The landlord can finish the eviction without any further permission from the bankruptcy court, and the court clerk will notify both sides.¹

Your landlord can also challenge either certification. If an objection is filed, the court must hold a hearing within 10 days. If the court sides with the landlord, the stay lifts and the eviction can proceed.¹

Evictions for Property Endangerment or Illegal Drugs

The automatic stay also does not block an eviction based on endangering the rental property or illegal use of controlled substances on the premises. The landlord files a certification with the bankruptcy court stating either that an eviction action on those grounds has already been filed, or that the tenant engaged in such conduct during the 30 days before the certification.¹

You have 15 days to file an objection, which triggers a hearing. No objection means the landlord moves forward.³ Paying every dollar of rent on time will not help here, because the eviction is not based on money.

Catching Up on Back Rent Through the Plan

When the stay does apply and you want to keep your home, Chapter 13 offers something Chapter 7 cannot: a structured way to pay back past-due rent over three to five years while holding on to the lease. Chapter 7 discharges the overdue rent, but the landlord can still evict for the lease breach. Chapter 13 lets you keep the lease by curing what you owe.

To do that, you “assume” the lease through your repayment plan. Assuming means you agree to stay bound by the lease going forward. In exchange, the law requires that all past-due rent be cured, that the landlord be compensated for any financial loss from the default, and that you show you can keep up with future payments.⁴ The past-due balance is spread across the plan rather than being owed all at once.

The bankruptcy court must confirm your plan before it binds anyone. Confirmation requires showing that you can realistically make both the monthly plan payments to the bankruptcy trustee and your ongoing rent payments to the landlord.⁵ A plan that leaves no margin for ordinary expenses is likely to be rejected, and the landlord can object if the numbers do not add up.

Keeping the Stay in Place After You File

Getting the stay is one thing; keeping it is another. You must pay your current rent in full and on time starting with the first payment due after filing. These post-petition rent payments go directly to the landlord and are separate from the plan payments you send the trustee for your past-due balance.

Fall behind on post-filing rent and the landlord can file a motion for relief from the stay.⁶ Courts grant these motions routinely, because missing current rent is strong evidence that you cannot sustain the lease. Once the stay is lifted, the landlord picks up where the eviction left off.

Non-monetary lease violations put you at the same risk. Unauthorized pets, property damage, disturbances, and other breaches can all support a motion to lift the stay and let the eviction resume.³ The court’s protection covers back rent you are curing, not ongoing lease violations you are actively committing.

Weaker Protection If You’ve Filed Before

Tenants with a recent dismissed case get much less. Filing again to restart the automatic stay does not work the way many people assume.

If one prior case was dismissed within the past year, the stay in your new case expires after just 30 days unless you ask the court to extend it. You have to show, before those 30 days run out, that your new filing is in good faith. The law presumes it is not in good faith if your prior case was dismissed because you failed to follow court orders, failed to file required documents, or failed to comply with a confirmed plan.¹

If two or more prior cases were dismissed within the past year, no stay goes into effect at all when you file. You can ask the court to impose one, but you must prove good faith by clear and convincing evidence, a high bar.¹ A tenant with two dismissed cases in a single year is unlikely to stop an eviction with a third filing.

Dismissal Can Lock You Out for 180 Days

A dismissed case is more than a setback. Federal law bars you from filing any new bankruptcy for 180 days if your previous case was dismissed because you willfully disobeyed court orders or failed to appear, or if you voluntarily dismissed your case after a creditor had already filed a motion for relief from the automatic stay.⁷

That second scenario matters for tenants. If your landlord files a motion to lift the stay and you respond by voluntarily dismissing to avoid the hearing, you cannot refile for 180 days. During that time, the landlord can finish the eviction and no bankruptcy protection is available. Talk to an attorney before voluntarily dismissing a case where a stay-relief motion is on the docket.

What Filing Costs

The court filing fee for Chapter 13 is $313 and can be paid in installments with court approval. Attorney fees vary by location but commonly fall in the $3,000 to $6,000 range for standard cases, and most of that fee is typically paid through your repayment plan rather than upfront. If a pre-filing eviction judgment exists, you also need enough cash on hand to deposit the next 30 days’ rent with the court clerk at the moment of filing.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 Automatic Stay
2
United States Courts. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Basics
3
Justia. Eviction Legal Issues Related to Bankruptcy
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 365 Executory Contracts and Unexpired Leases
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1325 Confirmation of Plan
6
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 4001
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 109 Who May Be a Debtor