How to Evict a Roommate in Nebraska (and Other Household Situations)
What Nebraska law says about roommates who are not on the lease, guests who won't leave, family members, renting a room in your own home, and tenancies at will — each with the statute or official source.
Short answer: Under Nebraska's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, a tenant is a person entitled under a rental agreement to occupy a unit, and a rental agreement can be written or oral. An occupant who is not on the written lease is a tenant only if they have their own agreement with the landlord (or a sublessor). The Act defines 'landlord' to include a sublessor, so a tenant who sublets to a roommate becomes that roommate's landlord. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1410(7), (14), (17)
| Roommate not on the lease | Under Nebraska's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, a tenant is a person entitled under a rental agreement to occupy a unit, and a rental agreement can be written or oral. An occupant who is not on the written lease is a tenant only if they have their own agreement with the landlord (or a sublessor). The Act defines 'landlord' to include a sublessor, so a tenant who sublets to a roommate becomes that roommate's landlord. The lease usually controls who may live in the unit and whether subletting is allowed. |
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| Removing a roommate or subtenant | No roommate-specific statute. Because a sublessor counts as a 'landlord' under the Act, a tenant who sublets ends a month-to-month subtenancy with written notice at least 30 days before the rental date named in the notice (7 days for week-to-week), then must use a court possession action if the subtenant stays. |
| Guests who won't leave | No statute sets when a guest becomes a tenant. Tenant status depends on a written or oral rental agreement with the landlord. For someone who is not a tenant under the Act, the owner may bring a forcible entry and detainer case; the court orders restitution of the property if it finds the entry or holding unlawful. The forcible entry and detainer statute does not apply to possession cases covered by the landlord-tenant act. |
| Renting a room in your own home (lodgers) | No separate lodger statute. Nebraska's landlord-tenant act has no exclusion for lodgers or roomers; it defines a 'roomer' as a person in a unit lacking a major bathroom or kitchen facility and treats a roomer who pays weekly rent as a week-to-week tenant when there is no fixed term. |
| Tenancy at will | Nebraska's landlord-tenant act does not use the term 'tenancy at will'. If a rental agreement fixes no definite term, the tenancy is week-to-week for a roomer paying weekly rent and month-to-month in all other cases. A month-to-month tenancy ends with written notice at least 30 days before the rental date named in the notice; week-to-week with at least 7 days' written notice. |
| Hotel and extended-stay guests | Transient occupancy in a hotel or motel is excluded from Nebraska's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (unless the arrangement was created to avoid the Act). The statute does not define 'transient' or set a number of days. Source: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1408(4) |
Never remove someone by changing the locks or taking their belongings: if the person has become a tenant, only a court can order them out. If there is violence or a threat, call 911 and ask about a protective order.
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Nebraska eviction laws · Free legal help in Nebraska · Roommate rules in other states
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.