A Louisiana eviction notice form is a legal demand for a tenant to comply with the terms of the rental agreement or else move out of the premises. Louisiana landlords may deliver an eviction notice because of unpaid rent, lease violations, or illegal activity on the rental property.
Types of Louisiana Eviction Notice Forms
| Notice Form | Grounds | Curable? |
| 5 Day Notice To Quit | Unpaid Rent | Yes |
| 5 Day Notice To Comply or Vacate | Lease Violation | Yes |
| 10 Day Notice To Vacate | Monthly Lease / No Lease | No |
Louisiana 5 Day Notice To Quit
A Louisiana 5 Day Notice To Quit evicts a tenant for nonpayment of rent. In Louisiana, a landlord can file this notice the day after rent is due, with no grace period for the tenant. The tenant must pay all past due rent or else move out within within five (5) calendar days, not counting legal holidays.
Louisiana 5 Day Notice To Comply or Vacate
A Louisiana 5 Day Notice To Comply or Vacate demands correction of a lease violation that is “curable,” i.e., the tenant may get a chance to fix the situation rather than be evicted. A curable lease violation might include failure to maintain health and safety on the rental property, interfering with the quiet enjoyment of neighbors, or refusal to allow lawful entry by the landlord.
The landlord gets to decide whether the tenant has a chance to take corrective action. If the landlord decides against this, or the tenant does not fix the issue, the tenant must move out within five (5) calendar days (not counting legal holidays).
Louisiana 10 Day Notice To Vacate
A Louisiana 10 Day Notice To Vacate terminates a month-to-month lease, an expired lease, or a situation with no written lease where the tenant pays rent monthly. The non-terminating party must receive notice at least ten (10) calendar days before the termination date.
How To Write an Eviction Notice in Louisiana
To help ensure the legal compliance of an eviction notice:
- Use the tenant’s full name and address
- Specify the lease violation as well as any balance due
- Specify the date of termination
- Print name and sign the notice, including the landlord’s address of record
- Note the date and method of notice delivery, along with printed name and signature
It is easy to lose an otherwise justified legal action because of improper notice. Check carefully to ensure enough time after notice is delivered, not when it’s sent.
How To Calculate Expiration Date in Louisiana
The “clock” for an eviction notice period starts “ticking” the day after the notice gets delivered (served). For example, to give at least 30 days of notice and begin court action as of June 30th, delivery of the eviction notice must be no later than May 31st.
In most jurisdictions, if the last day of a notice period is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the notice period continues to run until the end of the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. This is called the “next judicial day;” in other words, the next day a courthouse is open.
Louisiana does not count legal holidays for notice periods of less than seven (7) days. Longer periods are counted normally. Regardless of notice period, if the last day falls on a legal holiday, the notice period does not expire until the end of the next day that is not a legal holiday.
How To Serve an Eviction Notice in Louisiana
Louisiana landlords and tenants can in most cases agree in the lease on policies for delivery of an initial written eviction notice. If the lease is silent, the law requires a delivery method that is “reasonable in form.” These methods, taken from eviction for nonpayment of rent on an oral lease, are legally sufficient for most situations:
- Hand delivery to the tenant
- Delivery by certified mail, to the tenant’s last known address
If the tenant’s whereabouts are unknown, notice may be tacked to the door of the premises.
Sources
- 1 LA Code Civ Pro art. 5059
-
In computing a period of time allowed or prescribed by law or by order of court, the date of the act, event, or default after which the period begins to run is not to be included. The last day of the period is to be included, unless it is a legal holiday, in which event the period runs until the end of the next day which is not a legal holiday.
B. A half-holiday is considered as a legal holiday. A legal holiday is to be included in the computation of a period of time allowed or prescribed, except when:
(1) It is expressly excluded;
(2) It would otherwise be the last day of the period; or
(3) The period is less than seven days.
Source Link - 2 La. Civ. Code art. 2024
-
A contract of unspecified duration may be terminated at the will of either party by giving notice, reasonable in time and form, to the other party.
=====
For implicit guidance on what form of notice delivery may be reasonable in a leasing context, see, e.g., La. Stat. tit. 9 § 3259(B) & (C):
B. Delivery of written demand for purposes of this Section may be accomplished by mailing the written demand by certified mail to the last known address of the lessee, by personal delivery to the lessee or by tacking the written demand on the door of the leased premises.
C. The provisions of this Section shall apply to oral leases only.
See also La. Stat. tit. 9 § 3259.3 (“The notice shall be delivered in person to the lessee or sent by certified mail to the last known address of the lessee.”)
Source Link - 3 La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 4701
-
Source Link
When a lessee’s right of occupancy has ceased because of the termination of the lease by expiration of its term, action by the lessor, nonpayment of rent, or for any other reason, and the lessor wishes to obtain possession of the premises, the lessor or his agent shall cause written notice to vacate the premises to be delivered to the lessee.
…
A lessee may waive the notice requirements of this Article by written waiver contained in the lease, in which case, upon termination of the lessee’s right of occupancy for any reason, the lessor or his agent may immediately institute eviction proceedings in accordance with Chapter 2 of Title XI of the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure.
- 4 La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 4703
-
If the premises are abandoned or closed, or if the whereabouts of the lessee or occupant is unknown, all notices, process, pleadings, and orders required to be delivered or served on the lessee or occupant under this Title may be attached to a door of the premises, and this shall have the same effect as delivery to, or personal service on, the lessee or occupant.
=====
(Note that posting to the door of the premises is a valid method of service for premises that have NOT been abandoned, per La. Stat. tit. 9 § 3259(B), but ONLY in the highly specific context of evicting an oral lessee for nonpayment of rent.)
Source Link
