Connecticut 3 Day Notice to Pay or Quit

A Connecticut 3 Day Notice To Quit is a letter, delivered by a proper officer or indifferent person, that complies with state legal requirements to begin eviction against a tenant for nonpayment of rent. The tenant must pay the balance due or else move out within three (3) calendar days of receiving notice.

When To Use a Connecticut 3 Day Notice To Quit

A Connecticut 3 Day Notice To Quit begins the eviction process when a tenant has not paid rent on time. Rent is late nine (9) days after normally due in most tenancies (four (4) days for a one (1) week tenancy).

Some types of Connecticut lease termination notice may allow different reasons for termination, or different notice periods. This may also apply to an eviction notice issued because of a lease or legal violation.

warning

Many Connecticut properties are federally entitled to a minimum 30 days of advance notice before a landlord can file for eviction. This minimum applies to any residential property covered by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, even after the act’s other protections have expired.

How To Write a Connecticut 3 Day Notice To Quit

Connecticut law requires that a 3 Day Notice To Quit contain language substantially similar to the following:

I (or we) hereby give you notice that you are to quit possession or occupancy of the (land, building, apartment or dwelling unit, or of any trailer or any land upon which a trailer is used or stands, as the case may be), now occupied by you at (here insert the address, including apartment number or other designation, as applicable), on or before the (here insert the date) for the following reason (here insert the reason or reasons for the notice to quit possession or occupancy using the statutory language or words of similar import, also the date and place of signing notice). A.B.

The law further stipulates: “If the owner or lessor, or the owner’s or lessor’s legal representative, attorney-at-law or attorney-in-fact knows of the presence of an occupant but does not know the name of such occupant, the notice for such occupant may be addressed to such occupant as John Doe, Jane Doe or some other alias which reasonably characterizes the person to be served.”

How To Serve a Connecticut 3 Day Notice To Quit

Connecticut law requires that a 3 Day Notice To Quit be delivered by an officer or authorized process server. The third party who serves the process may deliver it by hand or leave it at the tenant’s address.

note

In almost all cases, notice is legally served when it is received by the other party, NOT when it’s sent. Check specified date of termination carefully to ensure compliance with the legal requirements for a notice period.

Sources

1 Connecticut General Assembly, Eviction Process and Timeframe: Nonpayment of Rent. If a tenant does not pay his or her rent, the landlord may evict the tenant after a three-day grace period or after the time specified in the notice to quit. If the tenant pays the rent during the grace period, he or she cannot be evicted for nonpayment.
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2 C.G.S.A. § 47a-15a: Sec. 47a-15a. Nonpayment of rent by tenant: Landlord’s remedy. If rent is unpaid when due and the tenant fails to pay rent within nine days thereafter or, in the case of a one-week tenancy, within four days thereafter, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement in accordance with the provisions of sections 47a-23 to 47a-23b, inclusive.
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3 Nwagwu v. Dawkins, No. BPHCV215004438S, 2021 WL 2775065, at *7 (Conn. Super. Ct. Mar. 2, 2021): “This matter is dismissed as a 30-day notice under the Cares Act was not provided to the tenant.”
4 Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-23(b): The notice [to quit] shall be in writing substantially in the following form: “I (or we) hereby give you notice that you are to quit possession or occupancy of the (land, building, apartment or dwelling unit, or of any trailer or any land upon which a trailer is used or stands, as the case may be), now occupied by you at (here insert the address, including apartment number or other designation, as applicable), on or before the (here insert the date) for the following reason (here insert the reason or reasons for the notice to quit possession or occupancy using the statutory language or words of similar import, also the date and place of signing notice). A.B.”. If the owner or lessor, or the owner’s or lessor’s legal representative, attorney-at-law or attorney-in-fact knows of the presence of an occupant but does not know the name of such occupant, the notice for such occupant may be addressed to such occupant as “John Doe”, “Jane Doe” or some other alias which reasonably characterizes the person to be served.
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5 Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-23(c): A copy of such notice [to quit] shall be delivered to each lessee or occupant or left at such lessee’s or occupant’s place of residence or, if the rental agreement or lease concerns commercial property, at the place of the commercial establishment by a proper officer or indifferent person. Delivery of such notice may be made on any day of the week.
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