A Louisiana month-to-month rental agreement is a contract (not necessarily in writing) which allows a tenant to rent property from a landlord, for one month at a time, in exchange for a fee (“rent”). The rental renews monthly, until either party gives proper notice to end it.
Basics of a Louisiana Month-to-Month Rental Agreement
In Louisiana, a landlord and tenant create a month-to-month lease by agreeing to rent a property according to acceptable terms. Written rental agreements are clearer and legally stronger, but oral leases are legal in a month-to-month context.
Parties under a month-to-month lease enjoy full rights under Louisiana landlord-tenant law. The tenant must use the property in a responsible way and pay rent on time. The landlord must keep essential features of the property in habitable condition, and protect the tenant’s quiet enjoyment of the lease.
The main difference between a month-to-month lease and a fixed-term lease is that month-to-month leases can be terminated (with proper notice) by either party for any reason without penalty. Landlords also can usually modify terms from one month to the next, again with proper notice.
Required Disclosures for Month-to-Month Rentals in Louisiana
Louisiana landlords may not rent a property out without making the following disclosures to a potential tenant, as relevant:
- Lead-Based Paint – Landlords must provide an EPA-approved disclosure and informational pamphlet to tenants renting any property built before 1978.
Required Notice To End a Month-to-Month Rental in Louisiana
Louisiana lets both the landlord or tenant terminate a month-to-month lease with at least ten calendar days of advance notice preceding the end of the current monthly payment period. In general, any reason that isn’t landlord retaliation is a legal and valid grounds for ending a month-to-month lease.
Louisiana requires written notice to end a month-to-month lease.
Required Notice To Raise the Rent on a Louisiana Month-to-Month Lease
Louisiana requires that notice for a rental increase be delivered in writing, but doesn’t specify a particular timeframe for that notice. This means in most cases it’s reasonable for a landlord to keep the same standard advance notice provided for termination or other major lease changes, which in Louisiana is ten calendar days before the end of the month.
Eviction in Louisiana Month-to-Month Rentals
Louisiana tenants may face eviction for violating a month-to-month lease or remaining on the property after the notice period allowed by a valid termination. Evictions in Louisiana typically take two to five weeks.
For more information on the eviction process in Louisiana, click here.
Sources
- 1 La. Civ. Code § 2728
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The notice of termination required by the preceding Article shall be given at or before the time specified below:
(1) In a lease whose term is measured by a period longer than a month, thirty calendar days before the end of that period;
(2) In a month-to-month lease, ten calendar days before the end of that month;
(3) In a lease whose term is measured by a period equal to or longer than a week but shorter than a month, five calendar days before the end of that period; and
(4) In a lease whose term is measured by a period shorter than a week, at any time prior to the expiration of that period.
A notice given according to the preceding Paragraph terminates the lease at the end of the period specified in the notice, and, if none is specified, at the end of the first period for which the notice is timely.
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