Vermilion Parish is a coastal south Louisiana parish of approximately 57,000 people anchored by Abbeville — the parish seat with a population of about 12,000 on the banks of the Vermilion River — and stretching south through the rice prairie and coastal marshlands to the Gulf of Mexico. The parish shares the 15th Judicial District Court with Acadia and Lafayette parishes, with Vermilion Parish matters filed at the Abbeville courthouse. Vermilion Parish’s economy blends rice farming, crawfish aquaculture, offshore oil and gas, commercial fishing, and a growing Lafayette commuter base that connects to the metro via LA-14 and US-90. Abbeville has a deep Cajun cultural identity, with its famous Assumption Catholic Church on the town square, its Cattle Festival, and its authentic Cajun culinary tradition. The parish is also home to Intracoastal City, a Gulf Coast offshore staging community in the southern portion of the parish.
The rental market is concentrated in Abbeville and the communities along LA-14, with the Abbeville market increasingly influenced by Lafayette commuter demand as workers seek lower housing costs while remaining connected to the metro. The parish poverty rate of approximately 19% is near the Louisiana average. Louisiana Civil Code governs all leases with no local rent control or just-cause eviction requirements. Flood and hurricane risk is significant in the southern portion of the parish.
Abbeville, Kaplan, Erath, Maurice, Intracoastal City
Court
15th Judicial District Court
Typical Rent Range
~$700–$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
Vermilion 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 Abbeville for any local code enforcement requirements within city limits. Unincorporated rural properties are not subject to municipal codes.
Rent Control
None. Louisiana has no statewide rent control and Vermilion 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 — 15th Judicial District (Vermilion Division)
All Vermilion Parish eviction proceedings are filed in the 15th Judicial District Court — Vermilion Parish Division, Vermilion Parish Courthouse, 100 N. State Street, Abbeville, LA 70510. Phone: (337) 898-1992. Hours: Monday–Friday 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Note: The 15th JDC serves Acadia, Lafayette, and Vermilion parishes; Vermilion matters are filed at the Abbeville courthouse. Justice of the Peace courts may have jurisdiction for leases not exceeding $1,000/month in unincorporated areas.
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.
Rice, Crawfish & Agriculture
Rice farming and crawfish aquaculture in the Vermilion River prairie are major industries. Rice farming involves seasonal income concentrated around harvest; crawfish production peaks January–June. Request prior-year tax returns or 12-month bank statements for agricultural and aquaculture worker applicants rather than peak-season pay stubs.
Offshore Oil & Gas / Intracoastal City
The Intracoastal City area in southern Vermilion Parish is an offshore staging community for Gulf of Mexico operations. Offshore rotation workers (14/28-day schedules) require 3-month pay stub averaging. Verify current employment status directly — offshore staffing levels respond to commodity price changes. Distinguish W-2 direct employees from contractors.
Lafayette Commuter Access
Abbeville is approximately 20 miles south of Lafayette via LA-14 and US-90. The Lafayette metro’s oil services, healthcare, and professional economy is accessible to Vermilion Parish residents in a reasonable commute. These commuters bring Lafayette-benchmarked wages to Abbeville’s more affordable housing. Verify income from Lafayette employers the same as any other.
Commercial Fishing
Commercial shrimping and fishing along the Cajun Coast contribute to the parish economy. Commercial fishing income is seasonal and variable. Request prior-year tax returns or 12-month bank statements for commercial fishermen applicants.
Flood Risk & Hurricane Provisions
Southern Vermilion Parish and coastal communities face significant hurricane and storm surge risk. Verify FEMA flood zone status for each property at msc.fema.gov. Include flood zone disclosure, mandatory renter’s insurance, evacuation compliance obligations, and storm damage reporting in all leases. Carry separate flood insurance on the structure for properties in flood-prone areas.
Source of Income / HCV
No state or local source of income protections. Landlords are not required to accept Housing Choice Vouchers. Contact the Vermilion 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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Vermilion Parish Louisiana Landlord-Tenant Law: A Guide for Rental Property Owners in Abbeville, Kaplan, and the Cajun Coast
Vermilion Parish is the southern anchor of Acadiana — a coastal south Louisiana parish that stretches from the rice prairie communities of Abbeville and Kaplan in the north down through the coastal marshlands to the Gulf of Mexico at Intracoastal City and beyond. Abbeville, the parish seat, is a graceful small city on the Vermilion River with an authentic Cajun character centered on its town square and the landmark Assumption Catholic Church. The parish shares the 15th Judicial District Court with Acadia and Lafayette parishes, making it one of three parishes in one of Louisiana’s busiest judicial districts; Vermilion matters are filed at the Abbeville courthouse. The parish’s economy is a quintessential Cajun Coast blend of rice farming, crawfish aquaculture, offshore oil and gas, commercial fishing, and the growing Lafayette commuter base that increasingly defines the north part of the parish as metropolitan Lafayette expands southward.
Rice Prairie, Crawfish Season, and Agricultural Income Verification
Vermilion Parish is in the heart of the Louisiana rice prairie, and the combination of rice and crawfish farming — where rice fields are flooded in fall and winter to become crawfish ponds — is one of the most distinctive agricultural systems in the United States. Rice farming has a single annual harvest in late summer; crawfish harvesting runs from January through June with peak activity in March and April. These seasonal income patterns mean that a pay stub drawn during crawfish peak season bears limited relationship to annual income. For rice and crawfish farming applicants, request prior-year federal tax returns or 12 months of bank statements showing the full annual income pattern. The same applies to commercial fishermen operating in the coastal waters of the Cajun Coast, whose income varies with season, weather, market prices, and resource availability.
Lafayette Commuter Access and the Abbeville Rental Advantage
Abbeville’s position approximately 20 miles south of Lafayette via LA-14 and US-90 makes it increasingly practical as a bedroom community for Lafayette metro workers who choose Abbeville’s authentic Cajun character, its slower pace, and its meaningfully lower housing costs over the more developed Lafayette suburbs. For landlords in Abbeville, the tenant pool increasingly includes Lafayette oil services workers, healthcare employees, and professionals who bring metropolitan wages to a market where rents are substantially lower than Lafayette’s. Verify income from Lafayette employers exactly as you would any employer — the parish boundary is irrelevant to income verification.
Louisiana Law and the Eviction Process in Vermilion Parish
All Vermilion Parish evictions are filed in the 15th Judicial District Court, Vermilion Parish Division, 100 N. State Street, Abbeville, LA 70510, phone (337) 898-1992. The 15th JDC serves Acadia, Lafayette, and Vermilion parishes; Vermilion matters are filed at the Abbeville courthouse. 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 Vermilion 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 15th Judicial District Court at (337) 898-1992 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. Consult a licensed Louisiana attorney for guidance. Last updated: March 2026.
