Louisiana Eviction Notice
Louisiana eviction notice: the 5-day notice to vacate under Code of Civil Procedure Article 4701, any cause. Free template. Attorney review available.
Introduction
An eviction notice is a written notice a landlord must serve on a tenant to begin ending a tenancy for cause, before filing an eviction lawsuit in court. This page's compact notice template below is the actual document a Louisiana landlord fills out and serves, not a broader walkthrough of how eviction law works in the state. Louisiana works differently from many states: there's no separate pay-or-quit, cure-or-quit, and unconditional-quit system. Instead, Code of Civil Procedure Article 4701 covers every cause, expiration of the lease term, action by the landlord, nonpayment of rent, or any other reason, with a single notice to vacate that must give the tenant not less than 5 days from delivery to leave. Louisiana law does not build in a right to cure. The notice to vacate is exactly that: a notice to leave, not an offer to fix the problem and stay. The notice also does not have to state the amount owed or the reason for eviction; that specificity is only required later, in the rule to show cause filed in court under Article 4731. A lease can waive the notice requirement entirely in writing, letting the landlord file suit immediately once the tenant's right to occupy ends. For a month-to-month tenancy, a separate 10-day termination notice under Civil Code Articles 2727 and 2728 applies and doubles as the notice to vacate.
Key Things to Know
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An eviction notice is a written notice a landlord must serve on a tenant to begin ending a tenancy for cause, before filing an eviction lawsuit in court.
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Louisiana uses one notice track for every cause, not separate pay-or-quit, cure-or-quit, and unconditional-quit notices. The notice to vacate must give the tenant not less than 5 days from delivery to leave, whether the cause is nonpayment of rent, expiration of the lease term, or any other reason. There's no prescribed statewide form, and the notice does not have to state the amount owed or the reason for eviction. (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 4701)
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Louisiana law does not give the tenant a statutory right to cure. The notice to vacate is a notice to leave, not an offer to fix a lease violation or pay overdue rent and stay. (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 4701)
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A lease can waive the notice-to-vacate requirement entirely, in a written waiver contained in the lease itself. If waived, the landlord may file an eviction suit immediately once the tenant's right of occupancy ends, with no pre-filing notice at all. (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 4701)
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The governing law is Louisiana's eviction title, Code of Civil Procedure Articles 4701 through 4735. If the tenant doesn't vacate, the landlord can file a rule to show cause, which the court must set for hearing no earlier than the third day after service. A judgment of eviction follows, and if the tenant doesn't comply within 24 hours, the court issues a warrant directing the sheriff, constable, or marshal to deliver possession. (La. Code Civ. Proc. arts. 4731-4733)
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The notice must be delivered to the tenant or occupant. If the premises are abandoned or closed, or the tenant's or occupant's whereabouts are unknown, the landlord may instead attach the notice to a door of the premises, which has the same legal effect as delivery. (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 4703)
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For a month-to-month or other indeterminate-term lease, ending the lease itself requires a separate notice under Civil Code Articles 2727 and 2728, at least 10 calendar days before the end of the month. That termination notice doubles as the notice to vacate under Article 4701.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Eviction Notice in Louisiana, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Eviction Notice guide walks through them.
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Louisiana Requirements for Eviction Notice
Distinct from the 5-day notice to vacate above: ending a lease with an indeterminate term, including a month-to-month lease, requires notice at least 10 calendar days before the end of the month. For a lease measured by a longer period, the notice period is 30 calendar days; for a period equal to or longer than a week but shorter than a month, 5 calendar days. This termination notice doubles as the Article 4701 notice to vacate.
Not less than 5 days from delivery, applying uniformly whether the cause is nonpayment of rent, expiration of the lease term, action by the landlord, or any other reason. Louisiana does not have separate pay-or-quit, cure-or-quit, or unconditional-quit notice tracks; every cause shares this one 5-day-minimum notice to vacate.
The notice must be delivered to the tenant or occupant. Louisiana's eviction articles do not set out a tiered service hierarchy; the one alternative method the statute authorizes is attaching the notice to a door of the premises, but only if the premises are abandoned or closed, or if the tenant's or occupant's whereabouts are unknown. That method has the same legal effect as delivery to, or personal service on, the tenant or occupant.
The notice to vacate is a notice to leave, not an offer to cure. Louisiana law does not require the landlord to give the tenant a chance to pay overdue rent or fix a lease violation within the notice period. Grounds for eviction only have to be stated later, in the rule to show cause filed in court, not in the pre-suit notice to vacate itself.
A lessee may waive the notice-to-vacate requirement entirely through a written waiver contained in the lease. If the lease contains that waiver, the landlord may institute eviction proceedings immediately upon termination of the lessee's right of occupancy for any reason, with no pre-filing notice to vacate at all.
The statutory basis for the notice to vacate and the court process that follows if the tenant does not comply: Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Articles 4701 through 4735, "Eviction of Tenants and Occupants," covering the notice to vacate, the rule to show cause, the judgment of eviction, and the warrant for possession.
There is no statewide, statutorily-mandated form for the notice to vacate. The notice must be in writing and must allow the required day count, but Louisiana law does not require the notice itself to state the reason for eviction or any dollar amount owed. That specificity is only required later, in the rule to show cause filed in court, which must state the grounds upon which eviction is sought.
Frequently Asked Questions
Louisiana requires a written notice to vacate that gives the tenant not less than 5 days from delivery to leave, under Code of Civil Procedure Article 4701. That same 5-day minimum applies no matter the cause, nonpayment of rent, lease expiration, or any other reason. A month-to-month lease also needs a separate 10-day termination notice under Civil Code Articles 2727 and 2728, which doubles as the notice to vacate.
Only if the lease itself contains a written waiver of the notice-to-vacate requirement. Without that waiver, Louisiana law requires the 5-day written notice to vacate under Article 4701 before the landlord can file a rule to show cause in court. If the lease waives notice, the landlord may file suit immediately once the tenant's right of occupancy ends.
No. Unlike states with separate pay-or-quit or cure-or-quit notices, Louisiana's Article 4701 is strictly a notice to vacate. It doesn't require the landlord to offer, or the tenant to have, a right to cure a lease violation or pay overdue rent within the notice period. The notice period is a deadline to leave, not a deadline to fix the issue and stay.
A notice to vacate is the written notice a Louisiana landlord must deliver to a tenant before filing an eviction suit, telling the tenant they must leave the premises within not less than 5 days. It's governed by Code of Civil Procedure Article 4701 and applies whether the tenant's right to occupy ended because of nonpayment of rent, lease expiration, or any other reason.
There's no statewide, statutorily-mandated form for the notice to vacate in the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure. A landlord can write their own notice, as long as it's in writing and gives the tenant not less than 5 days from delivery to leave. The statute doesn't require the notice to state a reason for eviction or a dollar amount owed; that level of detail is only required later, in the rule to show cause filed in court under Article 4731, which must state the grounds for eviction. Some individual parish or city courts publish their own forms for that later court filing, but that's separate from the pre-suit notice to vacate itself.
Louisiana's Article 4701 doesn't list specific lease violations; it covers termination of the lease "by expiration of its term, action by the lessor, nonpayment of rent, or for any other reason." So a lease violation can be nonpayment, an unauthorized occupant, damage to the property, or any other breach of the lease terms the landlord identifies. Whatever the violation, the same 5-day notice to vacate applies, and Louisiana doesn't require the notice to spell out the reason.
No. The notice to vacate is only the first step, a written demand for the tenant to leave. It doesn't itself remove anyone or end the case. If the tenant doesn't leave by the deadline, the landlord has to separately file a rule to show cause in court under Article 4731 to get a judgment of eviction. Only after that judgment, and after the tenant fails to comply within 24 hours, does the court issue a warrant directing the sheriff, constable, or marshal to actually deliver possession of the premises to the landlord.
If the tenant doesn't vacate and doesn't respond by the deadline stated on the notice, the landlord's next step is to file a rule to show cause asking the court to order the tenant to deliver possession. The rule must state the grounds for eviction, something the notice to vacate itself is not required to state. The court sets the rule for hearing no earlier than the third day after service, and if the tenant still doesn't answer or appear, the court renders a judgment of eviction right away.