A Tennessee 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. Tennessee landlords may deliver an eviction notice because of unpaid rent, lease violations, or illegal activity on the rental property.
Types of Tennessee Eviction Notice Forms
| Notice Form | Grounds | Curable? |
| 14 Day Notice To Quit | Unpaid Rent | Yes |
| 14 Day Notice To Comply or Vacate | Property Damage
(Non-URLTA)* |
Yes |
| 14 Day Notice To Comply | Property Damage
(URLTA)* |
Yes |
| 7 Day Notice To Vacate | Repeat Violation
(URLTA)* |
No |
| 14 Day Notice To Vacate | Repeat Violation
(Non-URLTA)* |
No |
| 3 Day Notice of Termination | Violent Act /
Health/Safety Issue (URLTA)* |
No |
| 3 Day Notice To Vacate | Violent Act /
Criminal Activity (Non-URLTA)* |
No |
| Immediate Notice To Vacate | Illegal Activity | No |
| 30 Day Notice To Quit | Lease Violation
(Non-URLTA)* |
No |
| 30 Day Notice To Vacate | No Lease | No |
* Tennessee has two sets of laws for rental property, depending on the county: URLTA and Non-URLTA.
Tennessee 14 Day Notice To Quit
A Tennessee 14 Day Notice to Quit evicts a tenant for nonpayment of rent. In STATE, 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 move out within fourteen (14) calendar days. This form of notice applies in all Tennessee counties.
Tennessee 14 Day Notice To Comply or Vacate
A Tennessee 14 Day Notice To Comply or Vacate demands correction of a lease violation that is “curable,” i.e., the tenant gets a chance to fix the situation rather than be evicted. This might include things like failing to maintain health and safety on the property, or parking a vehicle in an unauthorized area. The tenant must take appropriate corrective action or move out within fourteen (14) calendar days. This form of notice applies to non-URLTA counties only.
Tennessee 14 Day Notice To Comply
A Tennessee 14 Day Notice To Comply demands correction of a lease violation that is “curable,” i.e., the tenant gets a chance to fix the situation rather than be evicted. This might include things like unauthorized residents living at the premises, or causing a nuisance to neighbors. The tenant must take appropriate corrective action or move out within fourteen (14) calendar days. This form of notice applies to URLTA counties only.
Tennessee 7 Day Notice To Vacate
A Tennessee 7 Day Notice To Vacate evicts tenants for repeat lease violations within a six-month period. The tenant is not given an opportunity to take corrective action, and must move out within within seven (7) judicial days (i.e., not counting weekends or legal holidays). This form of notice applies to URLTA counties only.
Tennessee 14 Day Notice To Vacate
A Tennessee 14 Day Notice To Vacate evicts tenants for repeat lease violations within a 6-month period. The tenant is not given an opportunity to take corrective action, and must move out within within fourteen (14) calendar days. This form of notice applies to non-URLTA counties only.
Tennessee 3 Day Notice of Termination
A Tennessee 3 Day Notice of Termination evicts a tenant for an “incurable” lease violation, i.e., one which the tenant is not allowed to restore through corrective action, such as commiting a violent act on the premises or neglecting health and safety on the rental property. Tenants are not given an opportunity to take corrective action, and must move out within three (3) judicial days of receiving notice (i.e., not counting weekends and legal holidays).
This form of notice applies to URLTA counties only. Because of this, notice must be delivered on a judicial day (a day when the courthouse is open) so the tenant has immediate access to the courthouse.
Tennessee 3 Day Notice To Vacate
A Tennessee 3 Day Notice To Vacate evicts a tenant for an “incurable” lease violation, i.e., one which the tenant is not allowed to restore through corrective action, such as engaging in a violent act on the premises. The tenant must move out within three (3) judicial days of receiving notice (i.e., not counting weekends and legal holidays). This form of notice applies to non-URLTA counties only.
Tennessee Immediate Notice To Vacate
A Tennessee Immediate Notice To Vacate evicts a tenant for illegal activity on the premises, such as distributing controlled substances. The tenant is not allowed a chance to take corrective action, and must move out as soon as the notice is received (or the next judicial day, if received on a weekend or legal holiday). This form of notice applies in all Tennessee counties.
Tennessee 30 Day Notice To Quit
A Tennessee 30 Day Notice To Quit evicts a tenant for an “incurable” lease violation, i.e., one which the tenant is not allowed to restore through corrective action, such as causing deliberate property damage. The tenant must move out within thirty (30) calendar days of receiving notice. This form of notice applies to non-URLTA counties only.
Tennessee 30 Day Notice To Vacate
A Tennessee 30 Day Notice To Vacate terminates a rental agreement. The non-terminating party must receive notice at least thirty (30) days before the date of termination.
In non-URLTA counties, this form of notice may be used to terminate any type of tenancy, both periodic (e.g. month-to-month) and fixed-term.
In URLTA counties, this form of notice terminates a month-to-month or year-to-year lease, an expired lease, and a situation with no written lease where the tenant pays rent monthly.
How To Write an Eviction Notice in Tennessee
To help ensure the legal compliance of an eviction notice:
- Use the full name of the receiving party, and address of record, if known
- Specify the termination date of the lease or tenancy
- Specify the basis for terminating the tenancy
- Fill in the full address of the rental premises
- Provide updated/current address and phone number information
- Print name and sign the notice
- Complete the certificate of service by indicating the date and method of notice delivery, along with printed name and signature
How To Calculate Expiration Date in Tennessee
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.
Tennessee has two exceptions to these rules for counting notice periods:
- An Immediate Notice To Vacate, as the name implies, is effective as soon as it’s delivered
- Notices of fewer than eleven (11) days have their notice periods calculated only using judicial days (no weekends or legal holidays)
How To Serve an Eviction Notice in Tennessee
Tennessee landlords may deliver a lease termination notice using any of these methods:
- Hand delivery to the tenant
- Delivery by mail
- (URLTA lease agreements only) Electronic delivery (e.g. email or through an online portal), if the receiving party has agreed in writing to this form of notice
Notice must be delivered to the tenant’s last known address or address of record. Agreement to accept electronic notice cannot be a requirement for entering into a lease.
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URLTA and Non-URLTA Counties in Tennessee
Tennessee rentals are governed by one of two sets of laws, depending on county:
- Tennessee Property Code Chapter 7 applies in ALL Tennessee counties
- Tennessee Property Code Chapter 28, also called the Uniform Residential Landlord Tenant Act (URLTA), only applies in Tennessee counties with a population over 75,000 (as of 2010 Census data)
URLTA laws apply in addition to Chapter 7. Some laws in Chapter 7 do not apply to URLTA counties, and some URLTA laws override the basic Chapter 7 protections.
Tennesee’s URLTA applies in these counties: *
- Anderson
- Blount
- Bradley
- Davidson
- Greene
- Hamilton
- Knox
- Madison
- Maury
- Montgomery
- Rutherford
- Sevier
- Shelby
- Sullivan
- Sumner
- Washington
- Williamson
- Wilson
* This list is subject to change, based on federal census data collected every ten years.
Sources
- 1 TN Code § 66-28-517
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Upon receipt of such written notice, the tenant shall be entitled to immediate access to any court of competent jurisdiction for the purpose of obtaining a temporary or permanent injunction against such termination by the landlord.
Source Link - 2 Tennessee Court Rules of Civil Procedure - Rule 6.01
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In computing any period of time prescribed or allowed by these rules, by order of court, or by any applicable statute, the date of the act, event or default after which the designated period of time begins to run is not to be included. The last day of the period so computed shall be included unless it is a Saturday, a Sunday, or a legal holiday as defined in Tenn. Code Ann. § 15-1-101, or, when the act to be done is the filing of a paper in court, a day on which the office of the court clerk is closed or on which weather or other conditions have made the office of the court clerk inaccessible, in which event the period runs until the end of the next day which is not one of the aforementioned days. When the period of time prescribed or allowed is less than eleven (11) days, intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays shall be excluded in the computation.
Source Link - 3 Tenn. Code § 66-28-106
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Source Link
(a) Either party has notice of a fact if such person:
(1) Has actual knowledge of it; or (2) Has been given written notice. (b) All parties must give written notice to the last known or designated address contained in the lease agreement. - 4 Tenn. Code § 66-28-108
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If the tenant provides an electronic mail address in the rental agreement, any notification required to be sent to the tenant pursuant to this chapter may be made by the landlord through electronic notification to such mail address, unless a provision in this chapter requires a specific form of notification other than electronic notification; provided, however, that the landlord shall not require the tenant to provide an electronic mail address as a condition of entering into a rental agreement.
Source Link - 5 TN Code § 66-28-102
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Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act: This chapter applies only in counties having a population of more than seventy-five thousand (75,000), according to the 2010 federal census or any subsequent federal census.
Source Link - 6 TN Code § 66-7-109
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Nothing in this section, Chapter 7, shall apply to rental property located in any county governed by the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant.
Source Link - 7 Tennessee Legal Services - Help for Renters
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What is the Uniform Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (URLTA)?
URLTA, sometimes called the Landlord-Tenant Act, is a law that places additional responsibilities on landlords in urban counties. These Responsibilities include providing safe and healthy rentals to their tenants.
Source LinkWhich counties does URLTA apply to?
URLTA applies to counties in Tennessee that have a population of more than 75,000 residents. Currently, the only counties covered by URLTA are Anderson, Blount, Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Knox, Madison, Maury, Montgomery, Rutherford, Sevier, Shelby, Sullivan, Sumner, Washington, Williamson, and Wilson.
