Free Eviction Notice Template

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

If you’re unfamiliar with using an eviction notice as a property owner, it can often be helpful to see a real-life example before creating your own. Our sample template below shows exactly how a completed document should appear.

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

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:

1. An appropriate notice to quit for the lease agreement violation must be served

2. If the tenant refuses to leave the premises as instructed in the given time, a complaint will need to be filed with a court

3. The landlord and tenant must appear in court

4. 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

5. If the landlord wins, the judge will serve a Warrant of Eviction

6. 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.

Writing an eviction notice is not a tricky task and is something you can create yourself at home. Nevertheless, this form of legal document must be completed correctly, otherwise, a tenant could successfully sue against the eviction in court.

Using LawDistrict’s 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

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. 

The table below explains these key details that might affect state specific eviction notices in 12 of the states with the most rental properties:

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