When a tenant signs the agreement for the lease of a landlord’s property, he has agreed to obey all the terms and conditions of the agreement. If any of the tenants break a term or condition of this agreement, then you can evict that tenant from the property. But first, you, as a landlord, have to send the tenant a written notice to fix the lease violation. If the tenant does not fix his lease violations, then you will have the right to file for an eviction in court.
When you need to evict your tenant, you have to follow the eviction laws of your state. There are some basic rules to proceed with the eviction process. The first step of the eviction process is sending a Notice to Quit.
Notice to Quit
According to the eviction law, when a tenant breaks any terms or conditions of the lease agreement, the landlord has the right to evict that tenant. Before evicting the tenant, the landlord needs to send a notice to quit, which is a formal legal document to the tenant to give him some time to fix the lease violation or else move out of the property.
Reasons for Sending a Notice to Quit
A notice to quit is a legal notice, and there are some specific reasons when the landlord can send such a notice to the tenant. The main reason for giving notice to the tenant is for not paying the rent or other violations of the lease agreement, but there are other reasons why the landlord can send the notice. For example,
- The tenant is making too much noise, and that is disturbing other tenants.
- If the lease agreement does not approve pets in the property, and the tenant still brings pets into the property.
- The tenant is damaging the living conditions of the property.
- The tenant is living in the property under another person’s lease agreement.
No matter what the reason for filing the notice, you must clearly write down the reason in the notice. One of the most common mistakes landlords make during eviction is the failure to present the tenant with the reason for the notice.
Method for Sending the Notice
The notice is a formal step, and for that, you have to make sure that you are sending the notice to the right person. It would be best if you kept in mind these specifics while sending the notice:
- Name of all the adults who live in the property.
- The property address.
- The number of the unit which the tenant resides in.
- The floor where the unit is.
- Also, the landlord or their representative has to sign and date the notice.
Since it is a formal notice, there are different rules in different states about the serving method. Most of the states require the landlord or their representative to serve the notice in person, or instead of serving it in person, other states allow them to send it via any first-class certified mail service plus posting it in a conspicuous place on the property. Some of the states may need this formal notice to be delivered by a state marshal to the tenant.
Exact Time to Send the Notice
When you need to send the notice, the time you want to allow is entirely dependent on the reason why you are sending it. In most cases, you need to give the tenant a minimum of three days to fix the lease terms by providing the notice before you file for an eviction. Some of the reasons may require seven, 10, 30, 60, or even 90 days of notice.
If any of your tenants are disturbing other tenants before you serve them a notice to quit, you need to serve them a notice to cease so that they can fix the problem. If they still do not fix their problem, you can serve them with a notice to quit.
Waiting for the Response
A notice to quit is the formal notice that gives tenants some time to fix the problem of breaking lease terms within a specific timeframe. After serving the notice, you have to wait for the tenant’s response. The tenant can obey or disregard the notice. If he disregards, the landlord may go to court.
