Eviction Notice
Draft a landlord's eviction notice: pay-rent-or-quit, cure-or-quit, unconditional quit, and no-cause notices. Free template. Attorney review available.
Introduction
An eviction notice is a landlord's written notice to a tenant that formally begins the legal eviction process, before any case is filed in court. It states the reason the landlord is ending or conditioning the tenancy, whether that's nonpayment of rent, a lease violation, property damage, or the end of a lease term, and gives the tenant a set period to respond: pay what's owed, fix the problem, or vacate. Every state regulates this notice differently. Notice type, day count, required language, and delivery method all vary by state, and often by the reason within the same state. Some states let a tenant cure a fixable problem before the tenancy ends outright; others let serious violations skip that step. Getting any part wrong, the wrong notice type, an incorrect day count, missing language, or improper delivery, is one of the most common reasons an eviction case gets delayed or dismissed once it reaches court. This page holds the general eviction notice template and background. To draft a notice built around your state's actual notice periods and required content, select your state below. Attorney review of the finished notice is available if a second opinion is wanted before serving it.
Key Things to Know
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An eviction notice is a landlord's written notice to a tenant, served before filing an eviction lawsuit in court, that starts the legal process of ending a tenancy for cause or at the end of its term.
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Notices generally fall into a few types: pay-rent-or-quit for unpaid rent, cure-or-quit for a lease violation the tenant can fix, unconditional quit for a violation serious enough that no chance to fix it is offered, and no-cause or end-of-tenancy notices that end a lease or month-to-month tenancy without alleging tenant fault.
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Notice periods vary significantly by state and by the reason for the notice, commonly ranging from a few days for nonpayment of rent to several weeks or more for a no-cause termination. Confirm the specific day count that applies before relying on any particular number.
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Most states require the notice to state specific information, such as the amount owed, the lease term violated, or the deadline to respond, and some require the notice's wording to closely track language set out in the state's own law.
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Proper delivery matters as much as proper content. States commonly recognize personal delivery, delivery to another responsible person at the property, mailing, or posting on the property, often in a required order of preference.
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A notice that omits required information, misstates the amount owed, gives too few days, or is delivered by a method the state doesn't recognize is one of the most common reasons an eviction case is delayed or dismissed once it's filed.
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After the notice period ends without the tenant paying, curing, or vacating, a landlord generally must file a formal eviction lawsuit in court and obtain a judgment before removing the tenant. Self-help eviction, changing locks, removing belongings, or shutting off utilities to force a tenant out without a court order, is illegal in nearly every state.
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Because notice periods, required content, and delivery rules vary by state, this national page provides the general eviction notice template and background. For the notice periods and requirements that apply to a specific property, select that state's page.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Eviction Notice in Washington Dc, 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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Washington Dc Requirements for Eviction Notice
In Washington DC, landlords must provide tenants with a 30-day notice for most lease violations before filing for eviction. For nonpayment of rent, a 30-day notice is required, which is longer than many other jurisdictions.
For properties subject to DC's rent control laws, additional protections apply to tenants, and eviction notices must comply with specific rent control provisions.
Washington DC is a 'just cause' jurisdiction, meaning landlords can only evict tenants for specific legally defined reasons, which must be clearly stated in the eviction notice.
For lease violations other than nonpayment, the notice must provide the tenant with an opportunity to cure the violation within the notice period before proceeding with eviction.
Eviction notices cannot be issued in retaliation for a tenant exercising legal rights, such as reporting housing code violations or joining a tenant organization.
If the eviction is due to the landlord selling the property, the notice must inform tenants of their rights under the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA).
Eviction notices must be provided in the language the tenant understands, or with appropriate translation services, to ensure due process.
The eviction notice must be properly served to the tenant, either by personal delivery, leaving it with a person of suitable age at the premises, or by posting it in a conspicuous place with a copy sent by mail.
Eviction notices must comply with federal Fair Housing Act provisions prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability.
Reasonable accommodations must be made for tenants with disabilities during the eviction process, including in the format and delivery of notices.
Any current emergency legislation related to COVID-19 that affects eviction procedures must be complied with, including potential moratoriums or additional notice requirements.
The notice must accurately reflect any grace period for rent payment specified in the lease or required by DC law before eviction proceedings can begin.
The eviction notice must clearly specify the exact nature of the lease violation, including dates, amounts owed (for nonpayment), or specific behaviors constituting the violation.
If the eviction is related to refusal to pay a rent increase, the notice must demonstrate that the increase was properly noticed and complies with DC rent control laws if applicable.
Special protections apply to active duty military personnel, requiring additional procedures before eviction can proceed.
The eviction notice must come from a properly registered housing provider with a current business license and housing provider registration with the District.
The eviction notice must inform tenants of their right to legal representation and provide information about accessing legal services in DC.
For nonpayment evictions, the notice must acknowledge any partial payments received and provide an accurate accounting of amounts claimed to be due.
If the eviction is related to a foreclosure, special federal and DC-specific notice requirements apply, including longer notice periods.
Additional protections and notice requirements apply for elderly or disabled tenants, particularly in certain types of housing or for certain eviction grounds.
Frequently Asked Questions
An eviction notice is a landlord's written notice to a tenant that formally begins the legal eviction process. It states the reason the tenancy is ending or at risk, such as unpaid rent or a lease violation, and gives the tenant a deadline to pay, fix the problem, or move out before the landlord can file an eviction lawsuit in court.
Most states recognize a similar set of notice types: a pay-rent-or-quit notice for unpaid rent, a cure-or-quit notice for a lease violation the tenant can still fix, an unconditional quit notice for a violation serious enough that no chance to fix it is offered, and a no-cause or end-of-tenancy notice that ends a lease or month-to-month tenancy without alleging tenant fault. Which notices are available, and what each requires, depends on state law.
There's no single national answer. Notice periods commonly range from a few days for unpaid rent to several weeks or longer for ending a tenancy without cause, and the exact number is set by each state's law, sometimes with different periods for different reasons within the same state. Select your state for the specific day count and rules that apply.
If the tenant hasn't paid, cured the violation, or vacated by the deadline stated in the notice, the landlord's next step is generally to file a formal eviction lawsuit in the appropriate court. The notice itself does not remove the tenant; it is the required first step before a landlord can ask a court to do that.
No, in nearly every state. Even after a valid notice period expires, a landlord generally cannot personally remove a tenant, change the locks, shut off utilities, or remove a tenant's belongings to force them out. So-called self-help eviction is illegal in nearly every state; a landlord must file an eviction lawsuit, obtain a judgment, and, in most states, have a law enforcement officer carry out the removal.
States commonly recognize methods such as personal delivery to the tenant, leaving the notice with another responsible person at the property, mailing it, or posting it on the property, often in a required order of preference and sometimes requiring more than one method together. The correct method depends on state law.
Common defects include using the wrong notice type for the stated reason, stating the wrong amount owed, giving too few days, omitting information the state requires the notice to contain, or delivering the notice by a method the state doesn't recognize. A defective notice is one of the most common reasons an eviction case is delayed or dismissed once it reaches court.
It depends on the state. Some states require the notice to substantially track specific statutory wording or publish an official form; others simply require certain information to be included and leave the wording to the landlord. Check your state's page for its specific requirement.
Notice periods, required content, permitted delivery methods, and whether a tenant gets a chance to cure a violation all vary by state and often by the reason for the notice. Select your state above for the notice periods, required language, and service rules that apply where the property is located.