St. Mary Parish is a south-central Louisiana coastal parish of approximately 49,000 people with two distinct economic and geographic identities. Franklin, the parish seat with a population of about 7,000, anchors the northern part of the parish along Bayou Teche in the sugar cane and agricultural country. Morgan City, with a population of about 10,000, dominates the southern portion and is the parish’s true economic engine — one of the most important offshore oil and gas service and supply ports on the Gulf Coast, where the Atchafalaya River meets the Gulf of Mexico through the Intracoastal Waterway. Morgan City has been the staging ground for offshore oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico since the earliest offshore wells were drilled in the 1940s and 1950s, and the cluster of fabrication yards, supply boat operators, diving companies, and marine service businesses that lines the waterfront there represents a specialized industrial economy found in very few places in the United States. The parish shares the 16th Judicial District Court with Iberia and St. Martin parishes, with St. Mary matters filed at the Franklin courthouse.
The rental market in St. Mary Parish is split between the Franklin market, which serves the agricultural north, and the Morgan City market, which is driven by the offshore oil and gas industry’s boom-and-bust commodity cycle. The parish poverty rate of approximately 22% masks significant variation between the two sub-markets. Louisiana Civil Code governs all leases with no local rent control or just-cause eviction requirements. Flood and hurricane risk is serious throughout the southern portion of the parish.
Franklin, Morgan City, Berwick, Patterson, Centerville
Court
16th Judicial District Court
Typical Rent Range
~$650–$1,050/mo
Rent Control
None
Just-Cause Eviction
Not required
⚡ Eviction At-a-Glance
Nonpayment Notice
5-Day Notice to Vacate
Lease Violation
5-Day Notice to Vacate
Month-to-Month Term.
10-Day Written Notice
Cure Period
None required by law
Eviction Filing
Rule to Show Cause
Eviction Timeline
2–5 weeks total
Security Deposit Cap
2 months rent
Security Deposit Return
30 days after termination
Statute
La. CC Art. 2686–2729; CCP Art. 4701
St. Mary Parish Ordinances & Local Rules
Topic
Rule / Notes
Rental Licensing
No parish-level rental license required. Louisiana has no statewide landlord licensing statute. Verify with the City of Franklin or City of Morgan City for any local code enforcement requirements within their city limits.
Rent Control
None. Louisiana has no statewide rent control and St. Mary Parish has no local rent control ordinance. Lessors may raise rents freely at renewal with proper notice.
Security Deposit
Capped at 2 months’ rent (R.S. 9:3251). Must be returned with itemized deductions within 30 days of lease termination or surrender, whichever is later (R.S. 9:3252). Permissible deductions: unpaid rent, damage beyond normal wear and tear, unpaid utilities owed by lessee.
Eviction Court — 16th Judicial District (St. Mary Division)
All St. Mary Parish eviction proceedings are filed in the 16th Judicial District Court — St. Mary Parish Division, St. Mary Parish Courthouse, 500 Main Street, Franklin, LA 70538. Phone: (337) 828-4100. Hours: Monday–Friday 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Note: The 16th JDC serves Iberia, St. Martin, and St. Mary parishes; St. Mary matters are filed at the Franklin courthouse — not at Morgan City. Confirm current filing procedures with the clerk.
Notice to Vacate
Written 5-day notice to vacate required before filing for eviction (CCP Art. 4701–4703). Serve personally, by domiciliary service, or by door-posting plus first class mail. Retain all service documentation.
Month-to-Month Termination
10-day written notice required to terminate a month-to-month lease (CC Art. 2687, 2728). Notice must be given at least 10 days before the end of the monthly rental period.
Tacit Reconduction
Accepting rent after a fixed-term lease expires automatically creates a new month-to-month tenancy (CC Art. 2686). Give written notice before lease expiration if renewal is not intended.
No Statutory Cure Period
Louisiana provides no statutory cure period for lease violations. After the 5-day notice expires, the lessor may file a Rule to Show Cause immediately.
Offshore Oil & Gas: Morgan City Sub-Market
Morgan City is one of the most important offshore oil and gas service ports on the Gulf Coast. The local economy tracks crude oil prices closely — high prices drive hiring and demand; price downturns cause layoffs and rental market softening. Screen offshore workers carefully: permanent direct employees of established companies (supply boat operators, fabrication yards, diving companies) with verifiable W-2 income are reliable. Rotation workers on offshore schedules (typically 14 days on, 14 days off or 28/28) require 3-month pay stub averaging for reliable income assessment. Verify current employment status, as offshore staffing levels respond quickly to commodity price changes.
Sugarcane Agriculture: Franklin Sub-Market
The Bayou Teche agricultural corridor around Franklin produces sugarcane as the primary crop. Sugarcane harvest (grinding) season runs October–December with peak income; off-season earnings are substantially lower. Request prior-year tax returns or 12-month bank statements for agricultural worker applicants rather than harvest-season pay stubs alone.
Commercial Fishing & Marine Industry
St. Mary Parish’s coastal geography supports commercial shrimping, crabbing, and fishing. Commercial fishing income is seasonal and variable. Request prior-year tax returns or 12-month bank statements. Marine construction, vessel crew, and related maritime workers may have rotation schedules similar to offshore oil field workers.
⚠️ Flood Risk & Hurricane Provisions
The southern portion of St. Mary Parish — Morgan City, Berwick, and communities near the coast — is in a high-risk flood and hurricane zone. Verify FEMA flood zone status for each property at msc.fema.gov. Every lease must include flood zone disclosure, mandatory renter’s insurance, evacuation compliance obligations, and storm damage reporting requirements. Carry separate flood insurance on the structure. Franklin and the northern portion of the parish have lower but still meaningful flood risk from bayou flooding.
Source of Income / HCV
No state or local source of income protections. Landlords are not required to accept Housing Choice Vouchers. Contact the St. Mary Parish Housing Authority for current HCV payment standards.
Self-Help Eviction
Prohibited. Lessors may not take possession by any means other than lawful judicial process (CCP Art. 4736). Lockouts, utility shutoffs, or removal of tenant belongings without a court order expose the lessor to liability.
Tenant Can Cure?No - Louisiana notices are unconditional. No right to cure by paying rent. However, tenant can negotiate with landlord. Notice can be waived entirely in lease.
Days to Hearing2-7 days
Days to Writ1-3 days
Total Estimated Timeline14-30 days
Total Estimated Cost$100-$400
⚠️ Watch Out
VERY landlord-friendly state. 5-day notice is UNCONDITIONAL - no cure right, tenant must vacate. Notice can be WAIVED in lease - if waived, landlord can file immediately without any notice. No grace period. No statewide late fee cap. No security deposit cap. Tenant gets only 24 hours to appeal after judgment. Lease term notice: 10-day for month-to-month, 30-day for year lease. Do not count weekends/holidays in 5-day period.
Serve the required notice based on the eviction reason (nonpayment or lease violation).
Wait for the notice period to expire. If tenant cures the issue (where allowed), the process stops.
File an eviction case with the Justice of the Peace Court / City Court / District Court. Pay the filing fee (~$50-150).
Tenant is served with a summons and has the opportunity to respond.
Attend the court hearing and present your case.
If you prevail, obtain a writ of possession from the court.
Law enforcement executes the writ and removes the tenant if necessary.
⚠️ Disclaimer: This page provides general information about Louisiana eviction laws and does not constitute legal advice.
Eviction procedures can vary by county and may change over time. Local jurisdictions may have additional requirements or tenant protections.
For specific legal guidance, consult a qualified Louisiana attorney or local legal aid organization.
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⚠️ Disclaimer: These calculations are estimates based on state statutes and typical court timelines. Actual results vary by county, court backlog, and case specifics. Always verify current requirements with your local courthouse. This is not legal advice.
Underground Landlord
🏘️ Communities & Screening Tips
Key communities: Franklin, Morgan City, Berwick, Patterson, Centerville.
Dual sub-markets: Morgan City — offshore oil and gas (rotation workers: 3-month averaging; verify current employment amid price cycles). Franklin — sugarcane agriculture (harvest-season stubs insufficient; need prior-year tax returns). Coastal flood provisions non-negotiable south of I-90. 16th JDC courthouse in Franklin, not Morgan City.
Background checks, eviction history, credit reports — get the full picture before handing over the keys.
St. Mary Parish Louisiana Landlord-Tenant Law: A Guide for Rental Property Owners in Franklin, Morgan City, and the Gulf Coast Corridor
St. Mary Parish is two parishes in the body of one — a jurisdiction that spans from the Bayou Teche sugarcane country around Franklin in the north to the offshore oil service port of Morgan City in the south, where the Atchafalaya River meets the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway in one of the most economically important marine industrial corridors on the Gulf Coast. These two communities have different economies, different tenant pools, different flood risk profiles, and different screening considerations. Understanding which sub-market a property falls in — and applying the appropriate screening framework — is the central operational challenge for landlords in St. Mary Parish. The 16th Judicial District Court serves Iberia, St. Martin, and St. Mary parishes, with St. Mary matters filed at the Franklin courthouse. Note that despite Morgan City being the parish’s largest city and commercial hub, the courthouse is in Franklin.
Morgan City: Offshore Oil and the Commodity Cycle Rental Market
Morgan City has been the shore-based support hub for Gulf of Mexico offshore oil and gas operations since the first offshore well was drilled in Louisiana state waters in the late 1940s. The cluster of industries that serves the offshore sector — supply boat operators, fabrication yards where steel platforms and equipment are built, diving and ROV companies, inspection firms, marine transportation companies — constitutes one of the most specialized industrial economies anywhere on the Gulf Coast. When oil prices are high, these industries are hiring aggressively, wages are strong, and housing demand in Morgan City is robust. When oil prices fall, layoffs come quickly and the rental market softens with equal speed. This commodity-driven boom-bust dynamic is the defining feature of the Morgan City landlord experience and the most important context for screening decisions there.
For offshore rotation workers — who typically work 14 or 28 days on the Gulf platform followed by an equal rotation off — use three months of pay stubs averaged alongside bank statements to capture income across rotation periods. Verify current employment status directly with the employer or HR department, as offshore headcounts respond quickly to commodity price changes. Direct employees of established companies with verifiable W-2 records are more reliable than contract workers. For the southern portion of the parish, the flood and hurricane provisions that are standard throughout coastal Louisiana are especially important — the Morgan City area has flood risk from multiple directions, including riverine flooding from the Atchafalaya and storm surge from the Gulf.
Franklin and the Sugarcane North
Franklin and the Bayou Teche corridor to the north are sugarcane country — Cajun and Creole agricultural communities where the cane harvest defines the October-through-December grinding season and the rest of the year is shaped by cultivation, maintenance, and waiting. For agricultural workers whose primary income is from the cane harvest, a pay stub from November during peak grinding activity will significantly overstate their reliable annual income. Request prior-year tax returns or 12 months of bank statements showing the full annual income pattern before making a leasing decision.
Louisiana Law and the Eviction Process in St. Mary Parish
All St. Mary Parish evictions are filed in the 16th Judicial District Court, St. Mary Parish Division, 500 Main Street, Franklin, LA 70538, phone (337) 828-4100. The courthouse is in Franklin — not Morgan City. The 16th JDC also serves Iberia and St. Martin parishes. Begin with a written 5-day notice to vacate for nonpayment or lease violation, served per CCP Art. 4704. After expiration, file a Rule to Show Cause. The court schedules a hearing, serves the rule at least 2 days before, and the judge rules. If the lessor prevails, the lessee has 24 hours to vacate before the St. Mary Parish Sheriff enforces a writ of possession. Month-to-month leases require 10-day written notice to terminate. Security deposits are capped at 2 months’ rent and must be returned with itemized deductions within 30 days.
This guide is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Louisiana landlord-tenant law is governed by the Civil Code. Flood zone status should be independently verified. Consult a licensed Louisiana attorney or contact the 16th Judicial District Court at (337) 828-4100 for guidance. Last updated: March 2026.
⚠️ Legal Disclaimer: This page is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Louisiana landlord-tenant law is governed by the Civil Code. Flood zone status should be independently verified. Offshore employment status should be verified directly with employers given commodity cycle volatility. Consult a licensed Louisiana attorney for guidance. Last updated: March 2026.
