A Notice of Non-Renewal of Lease is a document landlords send to notify a tenant that they will not be renewing their lease. This notice will inform the tenant of their obligations under their current lease including their remaining rent payment(s) and instructions for moving out.
Failure to timely send this notice could lead to difficulties in terminating a tenant’s lease.
Do I Need a Reason to not Renew a Lease?
No, at the end of a lease’s term, a landlord can choose not to renew for almost any reason. There are a couple of exceptions:
- Retaliation (e.g., lease not renewed because tenant asserted one of their legal rights as a tenant).
- Discrimination (see The Fair Housing Act and our guide to help you better understand this exception).
- Local public housing authority (i.e., Section 8 tenants, etc.).
Failing to renew a lease based on one of the above reasons can result in fines, penalties and a potential lawsuit from a former tenant.
When to Send a Notice of Non-Renewal of Lease
For fixed term leases, the lease agreement should provide the minimum time required, if any, for sending a Notice of Non-Renewal of Lease. Failure to send the notice in a timely manner will convert the expiring lease into a month-to-month tenancy, unless your lease says otherwise.
Even if a notice is not required, a Notice of Non-Renewal of Lease is strongly recommended. This provides the tenant with time to find a new place to live. The tenant’s response will also help determine if the tenant plans to comply or if there may be additional legal action you will need to take.
State Laws on Sending a Notice of Non-Renewal
If a lease has lapsed and is on a month-to-month basis there is often no language in the lease agreement for how to terminate the lease.
Depending on the state, a landlord will have a specific timeframe for sending the notice. It’s important that landlords meet these timeframes to avoid any further delays. See the chart below for your state’s time requirements for sending a Notice of Non-Renewal.
>Alaska
| State | Month-to-Month Lease |
| Alabama | 30 days |
| Alaska | 30 days |
| Arizona | 30 days |
| Arkansas | 30 days |
| California | 30 days |
| Colorado | 21 days |
| Connecticut | 3 days |
| Delaware | 60 days (Notice period begins on the first day of the month following the date the notice was sent). |
| Florida | 15 days |
| Georgia | 60 days |
| Hawaii | 45 days |
| Idaho | 30 days |
| Illinois | 30 days |
| Indiana | 30 days |
| Iowa | 30 days |
| Kansas | 30 days |
| Kentucky | 30 days |
| Louisiana | 10 days |
| Maine | 30 days |
| Maryland | 60 days |
| Massachusetts | Interval between days of payment or 30 days, whichever is longer |
| Michigan | One month |
| Minnesota | Interval between time rent is due or 3 months, whichever is less |
| Mississippi | 30 days |
| Missouri | One month |
| Montana | 30 days |
| Nebraska | 30 days |
| Nevada | 30 days |
| New Hampshire | 30 days |
| New Jersey | One month> |
| New Mexico | 30 days |
| New York |
|
| North Carolina | 7 days |
| North Dakota | One month |
| Ohio | 30 days |
| Oklahoma | 30 days |
| Oregon |
|
| Pennsylvania | 15 days |
| Rhode Island | 30 days |
| South Carolina | 30 days |
| South Dakota | One month |
| Tennessee | 30 days |
| Texas | One month |
| Utah | 15 days |
| Vermont | 30 days |
| Virginia | 30 days |
| Washington | 20 days |
| Washington D.C. | 30 days |
| West Virginia | One month |
| Wisconsin | 28 days |
| Wyoming | No statute |
If there isn’t a specific time period that is provided by your lease or state law, a Notice of Non-Renewal of Lease should still be sent. Typically, it is recommended to provide at least 60 days’ notice. A Notice of Non-Renewal of Lease provides the following benefits:
- Gives your tenant the greatest opportunity to find a new rental unit.
- Helps avoid potential conflicts with the tenant.
- Ensures the rental unit will be vacated in a timely manner and the landlord can quickly rent out the unit to a new tenant.
- Record of timely communication in case the tenant refuses to vacate the premises and needs to be evicted.
How to Write a Notice of Non-Renewal of Lease
The Notice of Non-Renewal of Lease should include the following information:
- Date the letter is being sent.
- Landlord’s name and contact information.
- Tenant’s name and contact information.
- Rental property address, including the unit number.
- A reference to current lease agreement (include an attached copy).
- The date that the last payment is due.
- Expiration date of existing lease.
- Reason for not renewing lease (optional).
- Current lease requirements of tenant.
- Move-out instructions.
- Deadline for tenant’s response.
- Landlord’s signature.
- Tenant’s acknowledgement.
How to Send a Notice of Non-Renewal of Lease
Most lease agreements will specify how communication should be sent between the landlord and tenant.
Ideally, you want to send a notice in a way that requires a signature confirmation to document its receipt. This can be accomplished by certified mail or send it by restricted certified mail which requires the tenant to be the only person that can sign for the notice.
The landlord should keep a copy of this notice filed with a notation of the delivery method and any other relevant information.
What’s Next?
Once a landlord has sent the Notice of Non-Renewal, it’s important to know what may happen next and what you need to do.
Tenant Acknowledges Notice and Vacates
In a typical scenario, the tenant will acknowledge the notice and make plans to move out in accordance with the lease and move-out instructions. The landlord can communicate with the tenant to finalize the process based on these instructions. These move-out instructions typically include things like:
- Cleaning the rental unit.
- Tenant’s returning rental unit key.
- Landlord inspection.
- Return of security deposit.
- Repairs for damages beyond normal wear and tear.
If you are planning on renting out the unit again it’s time to start planning for a new tenant. This includes:
- Advertising.
- Making repairs.
- Staging your rental unit(when old tenant has vacated).
- Screening potential tenants.
Holdover Tenant
If a tenant does not vacate the premises, the landlord can begin the eviction process. The fact that you have documented communication notifying the tenant of your decision to not renew the lease is a good starting point for removing a holdover tenant.
It is recommended to not accept rent payments. Acceptance of payment may waive your rights to eviction and the tenant may be considered as having a month-to-month lease.
Please read our additional resources when dealing with a Tenant Holdover.
