What is the Eviction Notice Form?
The eviction notice form is a document used by the landlord to notify the tenant that they have violated the lease agreement. This document can include the option for the tenant to fix the violation and stop the eviction process. However, for more severe violations, the landlord is not obliged to give the tenant an option to fix the violation.
In most cases, the eviction notice is used when the tenant violates the lease agreement. However, the landlord can also use it when the lease period is about to expire, and the landlord doesn't wish to renew the lease agreement.
The eviction notice is required by most state laws, and the landlord cannot legally evict the tenant without providing an eviction notice beforehand. Each state law provides details on how much in advance the eviction notice must be delivered to the tenant before the eviction can be conducted.
Eviction Notice Forms by State
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Notice Periods and Laws
State | Notice period for non-compliance | Notice period for non-payment | Law |
Alabama | 7 days | 7 days | |
Alaska | 10 days | 7days | § 34-3-220 and § 34-3-160 |
Arizona | 10 days | 5 days | |
Arkansas | 14 days | 3 | |
California | 3 days | 3 days | |
Colorado | 10 days | 10 days | |
Connecticut | 15 days | 3 days | |
Delaware | 7 days | 5 days | |
Florida | 7 days | 3 days | |
Georgia | N/A | Immediate | |
Hawaii | 10 days | 5 days | |
Idaho | 3 days | 3 days | |
Illinois | 10 days | 5 days | |
Indiana | N/A | 10 days | |
Iowa | 7 days | 3 days | |
Kansas | 14 days | 3 days | |
Kentucky | 14 days | 7 days | |
Louisiana | 5 days | 5 days | |
Maine | 7 days | 7 days | |
Maryland | 30 days | 10 days | § 8-401 and § 8-402.1(a) |
Massachusetts | 30 days | 14 days | |
Michigan | 7 days | 7 days | |
Minnesota | N/A | 14 days | |
Mississippi | 14/30 days | 3 days | |
Missouri | 10 days | Immediate | |
Montana | 14 days (3 days if there is a pet or guest problem) | 3 days | |
Nebraska | 14 days to cure or 30 days to vacate | 7 days | |
Nevada | 5 days | 5 days | |
New Hampshire | 30 days | 7 days | |
New Jersey | 30 days | 30 days | |
New Mexico | 7 days | 3 days | |
New York | 30 days | 14 days | |
North Carolina | Immediate | 10 days | § 42-3 and § 42-26(a) |
North Dakota | 3 days | 3 days | |
Ohio | 3 days | 3 days | |
Oklahoma | 10 days to cure or 15 days to vacate | 5 days | |
Oregon | 10 days to cure or 14 days to vacate | 3 days | § 90.392 and |
Pennsylvania | 15 days (30 days if the tenant has lived there for over one year) | 10 days | |
Rhode Island | 20 days | 5 days | |
South Carolina | 14 days | 5 days | |
South Dakota | Appropriate notice period | 3 days | |
Tennessee | 14 days to cure or 30 days to vacate | 14 days | |
Texas | 3 days | 3 days | |
Utah | 3 days | 3 days | |
Vermont | 30 days | 14 days | |
Virginia | 21 days to cure or 30 days to vacate | 5 days | |
Washington | 10 days | 14 days | |
West Virginia | Immediate | Immediate | |
Wisconsin | 5 or 30 days | 5 or 14 days | |
Wyoming | 3 days | 3 days |
The Difference Between a “Tenant at Will” and “Tenant at Sufferance”
The main difference between the tenant at will and the tenant at sufferance is that the first resides at the leased property with the landlord’s consent, and the landlord must issue an eviction notice to the tenant if they wish the tenant to leave the property.
Contrary to that, the tenant at sufferance is living at the property without the landlord’s consent and can face eviction.
A tenant at will is usually someone who stays at the leased property with the landlord’s permission but without a formal lease agreement. This is usually a month-to-month lease, and each party can terminate such a lease after giving proper notice to the other side.
A tenant at sufferance is usually a tenant who continues to reside at the leased property even after the lease period has expired and the landlord hasn’t agreed upon starting a new lease period with the tenant.
Types of Eviction Notice Forms
Here, you can see the most commonly used types of eviction notice templates, depending on the reason for the eviction:
Types of Eviction Notice Forms
Notice to Pay or Quit: Used in cases where the tenant has failed to pay the due rent. Here, the landlord will give the tenant the option to pay the rent or leave the premises. Commonly referred to as the “eviction notice for failure to pay rent.”
Notice to Cure or Quit: Used when the tenant has violated some of the terms of the lease agreement. Here, like with the notice to pay or quit, the landlord will give the tenant an option to fix the violation or to leave the leased property.
Notice to Quit: Here, the landlord will notify the tenant to leave the leased property without the possibility of curing the violation they have committed. This usually includes situations where the tenant has conducted illegal activity on the premises.
Notice for Month-to-Month Lease Termination: The parties can use this type of eviction notice to notify the other party that they wish to terminate the month-to-month lease and give a deadline for the lease termination.
What Should be Included in an Eviction Notice Form?
The eviction notice form should include the following elements:
Information about the landlord and the tenant: This includes their full names and mailing addresses.
Identification of the leased property: This includes the property’s address as well as any other detail that will help to individualize the premises the eviction refers to.
Reason for the eviction: This can be the unpaid rent, violation of the lease agreement, end of the lease period, or the termination of the month-to-month lease.
Ways in which the violation can be remedied: The landlord can give an option to the tenant to remedy the violation and stop the eviction by paying the due rent or fixing the violation of the lease agreement before a certain deadline.
When Should You Use an Eviction Notice Form?
You should use an eviction notice form if the tenant fails to pay the rent on time. Depending on the state in which the parties are located, the landlord should give the tenant a certain number of days to pay the rent or quit the leased property.
Besides the rent nonpayment, another curable reason for the eviction is the tenant’s violation of the lease agreement. This can include violations of the smoking or pet policy, violations of the garbage disposal rules, and more. Here, the tenant can also cure the violation and stop the eviction process.
However, if the tenant commits an illegal activity or a more serious violation of the lease agreement, the landlord can evict the tenant without the possibility of curing the violation.
Eviction Notice Process
In this section, you can see what each step of the eviction process looks like. Before initiating the eviction process, the parties should always try to find a way to remedy the violation.
However, if the remedy cannot be found, the landlord can initiate the eviction by following the steps below.
#1. Fill Out & Send the Eviction Notice
First, you should write the eviction notice or fill out the form on our eviction notice builder and get a printable and ready-to-sign eviction notice paper.
#2. File Eviction Documents
You should first deliver the eviction notice to the tenant. If the tenant doesn’t remedy the violation within the provided deadline, you can move on and file the eviction notice together with the other supporting documents with the court.
#3. Attend the Court Hearing
After getting a hearing date from the court, you should make sure you attend the court hearing, present a copy of the lease agreement and eviction notice, and present your arguments to the court.
#4. Obtain the Ruling
After the court procedure is finished, you can use the court ruling to evict the tenant. The physical eviction of the tenant can be done only by the sheriff’s department, police, or the other body authorized for such activities.
How to Write an Eviction Notice
To make a legal eviction notice, you must enter the following elements:
#1. Fill Out Tenant & Property Information
First, you should enter the full name and mailing address of the landlord and tenant. Right after it, you should provide all the details that identify the property the landlord will refer to in the eviction notice form. In most cases, the property’s address will be sufficient, but you can also add other details if necessary.
#2. Enter Lease Agreement Information
Here, you should provide information about the lease agreement based on which the tenant is residing at the abovementioned property. This can be the date of signing the lease agreement, as well as the lease agreement reference number, if available.
#3. Explain How Late Rent Should be Paid
You should inform the tenant of the additional deadline they have to meet to pay the rent, notify them of any late fees (if applicable), and notify them that they must vacate the leased property if they don’t pay the late rent within the provided period.
If the reason for the eviction is the violation of the lease agreement, you should provide them with the details of their violation, notify them about the deadline for curing the violation, and notify them about the consequences of their failure to cure the violation.
#4. Reference State Regulation
You should also provide the state law regulations regarding evictions and base your claims on them. This is important since every state has different regulations about eviction, including the reasons for the eviction, notice durations, and more.
#5. Provide Proof of Service Information
This is a section within the eviction notice or a separate document that provides details on the eviction notice delivery to the tenant. This is especially important later in the eviction process as proof before the court that the eviction notice was delivered to the tenant or that the landlord has made a legitimate attempt to notify the tenant about the eviction.
#6. Sign the Eviction Notice Form
At the end, the landlord should sign the document and deliver it to the tenant.
Eviction Notice FAQ
The meaning of an eviction notice is to inform the tenant that they have violated the lease agreement and that they have a certain deadline to fix the violation or vacate the property.
It can take between several weeks and a few months to evict someone. The duration of the eviction process largely varies depending on the state laws, since each state provides different notice periods for eviction. Also, the duration of the eviction can be even longer if the parties enter into a legal dispute before the court.
The 3-day notice can be legal in some states. However, this largely depends on the reasons for the eviction and the state laws that apply to the particular eviction.
You can write an eviction notice as soon as the tenant has violated the lease agreement or has failed to pay the rent. Moreover, for the month-to-month lease, you can write an immediate eviction notice at any time.
Yes, the tenant can contest the eviction notice if they haven’t violated the lease agreement or if the eviction notice doesn’t include the necessary elements.
During the eviction process, the tenant has the right to receive proper notice about the landlord’s intention to initiate the eviction, to become familiar with the reasons for the eviction, to get the opportunity to cure the violation they have committed if it is permissible by state law, and to have a court hearing where they can present their arguments against the eviction.