Free Delaware Eviction Notice Forms

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Table of Contents:

Delaware Eviction Notice Types
Delaware Eviction Laws
Delaware Eviction Process
Eviction Notice Sample
FAQs About Delaware Eviction Notices

Delaware Eviction Notice Types

It’s necessary to provide the correct type of Delaware eviction notice to the tenant you’re removing from your property. If you don’t, the eviction could be overturned or take significantly longer to complete.

You must give your tenant the precise legal document for the situation, detailing a valid legal reason for the eviction under DE statutes. This will also affect how long you must give the resident as notice before they have to leave the property.

As seen below, there are a few different options in Delaware when completing an eviction.

5-Day Notice to Quit (Non-Payment)

If the tenant fails to pay rent, you can serve them with a 5-Day eviction notice. This requires the tenant to either pay the rent owed or to quit the property within 5 days (Del.C. § 5502) Assuming the tenant pays the rent within this time given, the notice will be null and void. However, if payment isn’t made, and they still refuse to leave, the landlord can sue the tenant in court.

7-Day Notice to Quit (Non-Compliance)

In the case of a lease violation, the landlord may issue a 7-Day Notice to Quit for Non-Compliance. This will often give the tenant 7 days to correct the breach before they will be obliged to leave the property (Del.C. § 5513).

However, unconditional 7-Day Non-Compliance notices can be issued too for more serious offenses. These don’t give the tenant any chance to correct their breach of the lease.

60-Day Notice to Quit (Month-to-Month)

60 Day-Notice to Quit documents are used to evict month-to-month tenants or those who don’t have a fixed lease without providing any given cause. This allows the landlord to inform the tenant that they must vacate the property within 60 days or face a legal challenge (Del.C. § 5106).

Immediate Notice to Quit (Irreparable Harm)

If a tenant has caused irreparable harm to any person or property, this notice can be used.

If they refuse to vacate the property, the landlord will be able to pursue the matter further through the courts (Del.C. § 5513(b)).

Delaware Eviction Laws

Your DE eviction notice must follow the state’s rental property laws, in order to be valid. There are a number of important requirements that are obligatory when proceeding with the eviction of a rental tenant.

An eviction in Delaware may only happen in the case of:

Non-payment of rent: 5 days’ notice (Del.C. § 5502)
Lease violations: 7 days’ notice (Del. C. § 5513)
Termination of a lease (month-to-month): 60 days’ notice (Del. C.§ 5106)
Irreparable harm: immediate eviction (Del. C. § 5513(b))

The DE eviction notice itself must be delivered to the tenant as an official letter or form detailing the key information about the property and tenant. It must also clearly explain the reason the landlord wishes to terminate the lease and how long the resident has to comply with the notice.

Delaware Eviction Process

There are a number of crucial steps to follow when evicting a tenant in Delaware. These police how the notice must be served and what you’ll need to do if the tenant still refuses to vacate the property.

To successfully evict your tenant in DE with an eviction notice, you’ll need to do the following:

Serve a valid eviction notice giving the tenant sufficient time to leave based on the reasons for the lease termination.
The landlord may file for an eviction with their local court, if the tenant refuses to leave on their own.
Both the landlord and tenant can argue their case in the court, once the hearing date arrives.
The judge will decide whether the eviction can be upheld or not. If it is upheld, you can ask the clerk of the court for a Writ of Possession.

When the Writ of Possession has been granted, the document can be given to your local law enforcement agent, who will remove the tenant and their property from your real estate.

Eviction Notice Sample

Before starting your own Delaware eviction notice, it can help to see what a real sample of this legal document looks like. Find out how an eviction notice should appear on paper with our template example below.

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FAQs About Delaware Eviction Notices

Before starting your eviction notice for real, it is sensible to understand the ins and outs of these important legal documents. Read more about Delaware’s eviction notices in our FAQs below and learn how to use these forms effectively.

How to Evict Someone in Delaware?

To successfully evict a tenant in DE state, the landlord or property manager must serve a legally valid eviction notice. This must provide the correct number of days to comply and a legitimate reason to evict. It can be served in person, to a family member, someone else living on the premises, or left in a conspicuous location and mailed.

If the tenant doesn’t comply and vacate the property as instructed, the landlord will then have to petition a court. If the judge rules in their favor, they will then be able to use a local marshal or sheriff to forcibly evict the tenant.

How Many Days Notice Does a Landlord Need to Give in Delaware?

The notice period a landlord needs to give in Delaware always depends on their reason to evict. When a DE eviction notice is served, it must provide the correct duration for the infraction, or it won’t be valid. This can be as few as 5 days for a missed rental payment and up to 60 days when terminating a lease.

How Much Does It Cost to Evict Someone?

How much evicting a tenant costs will often depend on how long the removal process lasts. If you serve the Delaware 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 $300 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.

You are only a few steps away from your own Delaware Eviction Notice!

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Preview of your Delaware Eviction Notice

NOTICE TO QUIT

_________

_________
_________
_________, Delaware _________

TO TENANT(S), ALL OTHER RESIDENTS AND UNNAMED OCCUPANTS OF THE PREMISES LOCATED AT:

_________, _________, Delaware _________

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT:

(i) You are a Tenant for the Premises described above, of which you now hold possession.

(ii) In accordance with the aforementioned lease and/or rental agreement, your tenancy has expired as of _________.

YOU ARE HEREBY REQUIRED TO:

QUIT the above-mentioned premises and turn over possession of the same to _________ or its agents at once.

Failure to vacate the premises within the time specified above will result in forfeiture of the lease or rental agreement. In addition, under § 5515 of the Delaware Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Code, the owner or landlord will be entitled to a sum not to exceed double the monthly rental under the previous agreement, computed and pro-rated daily, for each day the tenant remains in possession for any period. Lastly, the holdover tenant shall be responsible for any further losses incurred by the landlord as determined by a proceeding before any court of competent jurisdiction.

PLEASE NOTE THAT:

This is a legal notice for the purpose of terminating your tenancy under § 5515 of the Delaware Uniform Residential Landlord And Tenant Code.

Reserved Rights

The Landlord retains and shall be entitled to enforce the rights and remedies provided under the lease and/or rental agreement and under any applicable laws of the state of Delaware at any time in connection with any and all defaults or events of default now existing or hereafter arising. Nothing in this notice may be construed as a waiver of such rights and remedies.

Dated: _________

By: ______________________________
_________

_________, _________, _________ _________
_________

PROOF OF SERVICE

I, the undersigned, declare under penalty of perjury and pursuant to the laws of the state of Delaware that I served the above notice, of which this is a true copy, on the following tenant(s) in possession in the manner(s) indicated below:

- On ____________________, I handed the notice to the tenant(s) personally.

- On ____________________, I handed the above notice personally to a person residing at the tenant's address who was at least 18 years of age and the tenant signed acknowledging acceptance.

- On ____________________, after attempting service in the manners indicated previously, I posted the notice at a conspicuous place on the Premises and mailed a true copy of the document by:

( ) Regular mail

( ) Registered mail

( ) Certified mail

Postage fully prepaid, addressed to the tenant(s) at his/her place of residence.

- On ____________________, I used a court-approved process server to deliver the notice to the tenant under § 5706 of the Delaware Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Code.

Executed on _______________________
Served by _________________________