Free Eviction Notice Template
If you are the landlord, an eviction notice is an essential legal instrument you need to prepare with care. Customize your own printable eviction notice with our step-by-step template designer.
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What is an Eviction Notice
An eviction happens when a tenant or tenants are removed from the property they are living in by the owner of the land or building.
This is a legal process whereby the owner of the property gives the tenant notice that they must vacate the property within a certain amount of time. If they fail to do so, they could face litigation.
Evictions can happen for numerous reasons, such as failure to pay the rent. However, they normally occur between landlords and tenants when the following situations take place:
- The tenant(s) have not paid their rent
- Tenants have violated the terms of their tenancy agreement
- The landlord decides not to renew the lease on the property
- The tenants are causing damage to the property
- Illegal activity is taking place on the property
What is a Notice to Quit
When a tenant breaks the terms of the lease agreement on a property, the landlord could serve them with a notice to quit. This is the first step in any eviction process.
The notice to quit normally provides information on the violation in question. It then sets out what violations have been committed under the rental agreement and gives the tenant a period of time to correct the matter or be legally evicted.
A notice to quit letter is also known by many other names, including:
- Warning Notice
- Warning Letter
- Lease Notice
- Eviction Letter
- Notice to Vacate
- Eviction Notice Form
How to Evict a Tenant
Much of the time, disputes between landlords and tenants can be resolved civilly without turning to legal action. However, on some occasions the situation becomes untenable, and an eviction process must be started.
There are a number of steps you’ll need to follow to successfully and legally evict a tenant living on your property. These are as follows:
- An appropriate notice to quit for the lease agreement violation must be served
- If the tenant refuses to leave the premises as instructed in the given time, a complaint will need to be filed with a court
- The landlord and tenant must appear in court
- A judge will need to rule on whether the eviction has been correctly followed under the lease agreement and what rights the tenant has to remain in the property
- If the landlord wins, the judge will serve a Warrant of Eviction
The tenant must now leave the property or face further legal action. Depending on the county laws, they may also need to pay the landlord’s legal expenses and any unpaid rent.
How to Write an Eviction Notice
Writing an eviction notice is not a tricky task and is something you can create yourself at home. Nevertheless, this form of the legal document must be completed correctly, otherwise, a tenant could successfully sue against the eviction in court.
Using our online template, you can easily write your own eviction notice from home without a lawyer.
However, if you intend to evict a tenant in a rental control unit or a government-subsidized property (such as Section 8 properties) you will need to follow specific rules in order to perform a successful eviction. This may require the assistance or advice of a real estate lawyer.
An eviction notice or notice to quit must contain the following information for it to be legally valid:
- The name(s) of the tenant(s) written on the rental agreement
- The date the rental agreement was signed (if it appears on the agreement)
- The address of the property being occupied
- A clear and legitimate reason for the notice to evict (this should be written in the rental agreement itself)
- Specific details on the breach of the lease in question (dates and timeframes)
- What steps (if any) the resident must take to avoid eviction
- The date by which the situation must be rectified or the property vacated
- The landlord’s contact information
- The date that the notice has been issued
What Are the Rules For My State
Your eviction notice must conform to your individual state’s rental property laws. This can make the process of an eviction a little more complicated as specific reasons, notice periods, and delivery services must be used in order for a Notice to Quit to be legally valid.
How to serve an eviction notice
The way you deliver your carefully prepared eviction notice is just as important as the information it contains.
State law usually sets out specific rules on how you must deliver your signed and dated eviction notice before the notice period officially begins.
This is done to prevent disputes by ensuring that the tenants clearly and demonstrably know that they have been given legal notice to leave or correct a lease violation.
Depending on the state, the landlord may serve the notice themselves or hire a certified process server to do the job for them.
However, it is essential to check the correct way to deliver your eviction notice in your state before sending it to the tenant.
Some commonly accepted delivery methods are:
- Hand delivery
- Registered/certified mail
- Posting notice on the property
- Posting the notice on the property and mailing a copy by registered/certified mail
- Delivery as specified in the tenant’s lease
Eviction Notice and Notice to Quit FAQs
If you’re still wondering about some of the finer details of eviction notices, don’t worry. We’ve answered some of the most common queries that landlords often ask in our frequently asked questions section below.
Depending on the circumstances and the tenant, an eviction could be completed in mere days. However, in a situation where the resident refuses to leave, or the eviction notice is incomplete or incorrect, it could take months.
The time it takes to evict someone from a property you own or manage ultimately depends on the state and county laws in effect and the tenant living in your property.
You must follow the state’s guidelines for minimum notice and follow the correct legal process should the tenant not withdraw from the property.
How much evicting a tenant costs will often depend on how long the removal process lasts.
If you serve an eviction notice and that leads to a resolution of the dispute, or the tenant simply leaves as instructed, then the costs are very low (below $500 not including potentially lost rent).
However, if the tenant refuses to leave the property, this could lead to a more protracted and expensive legal case. If you need to seek legal advice or representation at any step of the process, this will of course carry much higher costs.
If the lease on your property is about to expire or a tenant has invited someone to rent or sublet who is not named on the rental agreement, you can serve them with a 30-day notice to vacate.
In the event that they don’t leave the premises after this period of time has passed, you can carry out legal eviction proceedings as you would with any regular tenant.
If you are served with a legal notice to quit as a resident of a rented property, the document will notify you of how many days you have to vacate.
This may be as little as 3 or as many as 60 days depending on the circumstances for the eviction, the laws set in the state you’re living, and the property in question.
Preview of your Eviction Notice
_________
_________
_________, California _________
_________, _________, California _________
| _________ | to | _________ | $_________ | ||
| Total: | $0.00 |
Address: _________, _________, _________ _________
Payment must be made by 10:00 AM on _________
(Payment can be made in person between the hours of 9am and 5pm Monday through Sunday).
Phone Number: _________
Dated: _________
By: ______________________________
_________
_________, _________, _________ _________
_________
I, the undersigned, _________, being at least 18 years of age, certify and declare under penalty of perjury that on the _____ day of _____________, 20___ I served the above notice to the tenant(s) personally to the person in possession of the property, or in the manner(s) indicated below:
__ On _____________, after attempting personal service, by delivering it on the premises to a member of suitable age of his/her family or household or an employee of suitable age and discretion at the residence/business of the tenant(s), with a request that it be delivered to the person in possession of said premises, AND deposited a true copy in the U.S. Mail, in a sealed envelope with postage fully prepaid, addressed to the tenant(s) at his/her place of residence.
__ On _____________, after attempting service in both manners indicated previously, I served this notice by posting it in a visible place at the residence of the tenant(s), AND I deposited a true copy through Certified U.S. Mail, in a sealed envelope with postage fully prepaid, addressed to the tenant(s) or the person(s) in possession of the property at his/her/their place of residence.
Executed on ____________________
Served by ______________________
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