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Lease Termination Letter | 30-Day Notice to Quit

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A lease termination letter (for month-to-month tenancies) is an official form used by tenants and landlords for ending a lease that doesn’t have a pre-determined move-out date. The standard time for terminating a lease is thirty (30) days, although many states implement their own notice lengths, such as twenty-eight (28) days, two (2) months, or ninety (90) days.

Notice to Comply or Quit (Violation of Lease) – A letter to inform a tenant that breached one (1) or more lease conditions that they will be evicted unless the problem is fixed.

Letters: By State

Contents

Sample Letter

NOTICE TO TERMINATE TENANCY

 

Date: [MM/DD/YYYY]
To: [LANDLORD OR TENANT NAME]

Property Address: [RENTAL ADDRESS]

You are notified that the tenancy signed on [MM/DD/YYYY] for the leased premises listed above is hereby terminated in [#] days, effective [MM/DD/YYYY].

FOR TENANTS ONLY: After I move out, please mail the security deposit to [TENANT ONLY: NEW MAILING ADDRESS].

On the day of move-out, the Landlord and Tenant(s) will walk through the rental to perform a move-out inspection.

The Tenant(s) agrees to arrange for all utilities to be turned OFF upon move-out. If the Landlord would like to transfer the accounts to their name, they should inform the Tenant(s) as soon as possible.

Landlord / Tenant Signature: _____________________ Printed Name: [PRINTED NAME]

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that on [MM/DD/YYYY], I served this notice to [TENANT/LANDLORD NAME] by:

☐ – Delivering it personally to the person in possession of the Premises.
☐ – Delivering it to the Premises to a member of the recipient’s family or household or an employee of suitable age and discretion with a request that it be delivered to the person in possession.
☐ – Certified first-class mail addressed to the person in possession.

Landlord / Tenant Signature: _____________________

How to Terminate a Lease

Follow the steps below to terminate a periodic, month-to-month lease agreement.

Step 1 – Identify the State’s Notice Requirements

Because the length of notice time a landlord or tenant is required to give is based on their state’s laws, the table below should be referenced to ensure the laws are being followed correctly.

Step 2 – Download + Complete the Letter

Save the letter in PDF, Word (.docx), or OpenDocument. Word and OpenDocument are the recommended formats if the landlord or tenant intends to make edits to the document.

Step 3 – Deliver the Letter

While states mandate the way a termination letter can be delivered to the other party, sending the letter via certified mail is the recommended method for informing the landlord or tenant. With certified mail, the letter is sent by USPS, which will provide an electronic verification that the other party received the completed form (or that an attempt was made at delivery). Having said that, the landlord or tenant can often get away with sending the mail normally and/or handing it to the other party in person.

Step 4 – Prepare to Move Out / Wait

If the tenant issued the notice to the landlord, they should be focused on finding a new place to live and organizing/preparing their belongings for the move. If the landlord issued the notice, they must wait until the tenant moves out, or until the notice period has passed.

If the tenant remains in the rental after the last day passes, the landlord should begin the eviction process by filing the papers with the local courthouse. After this point, the eviction is like any other; for more information on the eviction process, read up on “How to Evict a Tenant.”

Required Termination Periods: By State

The following table provides the notice requirements landlords and tenants are required to provide the other party in order to terminate a month-to-month lease.

Note: “LL” = Landlord | “TN” = Tenant

STATE NOTICE PERIOD STATUTE
Alabama 30 days § 35-9A-441
Alaska 30 days AS 34.03.290(b))
Arizona 30 days § 33-1368(2B)
Arkansas 30 days § 18-60-304(3)
California LL – 30 or 60 days
TN – 30 days		 § 1946.1(c)
Colorado 21 days § 13-40-107(1)
Connecticut Not specified N/A
Delaware 60 days §5106(d)
Florida 15 days § 83.57(3)
Georgia LL – 60 days
TN – 30 days		 § 44-7-7
Hawaii LL – 45 days
TN – 28 days		 § 521-71(a) + (b)
Idaho 1 month § 55-208
Illinois 30 days 735 ILCS 5/9-207
Indiana 1 month IC 32-31-1-1
Iowa 30 days § 562A.34
Kansas 30 days § 58-2570(b)
Kentucky 30 days § 383.695(2)
Louisiana 10 days § 2728(2)
Maine 30 days § 6002
Maryland LL – 60 days
TN – 30 days		 § 8-402(c)(2)(i) and (c)(3)(i)
Massachusetts 30 days Ch. 186 §12
Michigan 1 month § 534.134
Minnesota 1 month (up to 3 months) § 504B.135
Mississippi 30 days § 89-8-19(3)
Missouri 1 month § 441.060(4)(1)
Montana 30 days § 70-24-441
Nebraska 30 days § 76-1437
Nevada 30 days § 40.251
New Hampshire 30 days § 540:23(II)
New Jersey 1 month NJ 2A:18-56(b)
New Mexico 30 days § 47-8-37
New York 1 month § 232-A & § 232-B
North Carolina 7 days § 42-14
North Dakota 30 days § 47-16-15(2)
Ohio 30 days § 5321.17
Oklahoma 30 days § 41-111
Oregon 30 days ORS 90.427(3)(a)+(b)
Pennsylvania Not specified N/A
Rhode Island 30 days § 34-18-37
South Carolina 30 days § 27-40-770(b)
South Dakota LL – 30 days
TN – 15 days		 § 43-8-8
Tennessee 30 days § 66-28-512(b)
Texas 1 month § 91.001
Utah 15 days § 78B-6-802(1)(b)(i)
Vermont LL – 30-90 days
TN – 60-90 days		 § 4467
Virginia 30 days § 55.1-1253
Washington 20 days § 59.18.200
West Virginia 30 days § 37-6-5
Wisconsin 28 days § 704.19(3)
Wyoming Not specified N/A