Lease Termination Letters – By State

Depending on where you’re ending your lease, you will want to use a state-specific form to ensure you comply with applicable legal requirements. Legal Templates offers lease termination letter templates for each state, so you can choose the one that aligns with your area’s laws.

What Is a Lease Termination Letter?

A lease termination letter is a formal document stating the landlord’s or the tenant’s intention to end a lease. It extends a courtesy and helps the sender fulfill legal obligations. They use it to give a certain amount of state-required notice, clarifying when the property will be vacant.

A lease termination letter is often for month-to-month leases. You can also send this letter to end another periodic lease, like a year-to-year or week-to-week lease. If a disagreement arises with your attempt to end a lease, a court may not side with you if you didn’t use a lease exit letter to provide the standard notice. Our lease termination letter protects you in case of legal disputes.

Note that an eviction notice differs from a lease termination letter. An eviction notice only comes from a landlord, informing a tenant that they must fix a lease violation or move out. A landlord or tenant sends a lease termination letter due to changes in circumstances. Meanwhile, a landlord sends an eviction notice letter due to a tenant’s non-compliance.

Factor	Lease Termination Letter	Eviction Notice
Initiating Party	Landlord or tenant	Landlord
Voluntariness	Voluntary choice to initiate but the other party must respect it	Tenant must fix the issue or move out
Reasons	Mutual agreement or change in circumstances	Late rent payments, noise complaints, other violations
Outcome	Tenant leaves on their own	Tenant leaves on their own or landlord proceeds with eviction process

What If I Need to End a Lease Early?

Whether due to personal or legally protected reasons, you may need to end your lease early as a tenant. If this is the case, you can use Legal Templates’s early lease termination letter. Depending on the reason, you may incur penalties, forfeit your security deposit, or be required to pay rent until the landlord finds a new tenant.

If everything goes according to plan with a fixed-term lease, but you don’t want to renew it, you can prepare a non-renewal letter to send to the other party.

State Rules for Terminating a Lease

The requirements for a lease termination letter vary by state. Many states require 30 days’ notice (a 30-day notice to vacate), but some need more or less notice. The amount of required notice depends on where you live and whether you’re the landlord or the tenant.

When you use a letter that accounts for your state’s notice requirements, you can ensure that you are in compliance with state laws regarding notice of lease termination. To understand your obligations, review state laws regarding the notice a landlord or tenant must give before terminating a month-to-month lease.

State	Tenants' Required Notice	Landlords' Required Notice	Laws
Alabama	30 days	30 days	AL Code § 35-9A-441
Alaska	30 days	30 days	AK Stat. § 34.03.290
Arizona	30 days	30 days	AZ Rev. Stat. § 33-1375
Arkansas	30 days	30 days	AR Code § 18-17-704
California	30 days	30 days	CA Civ. Code § 1946
Colorado	91 days for a tenancy of one year or longer 28 days for a tenancy of six months or longer but less than one year 21 days for a tenancy of one month or longer but less than six months 3 days for a tenancy between one week and one month 1 day for a tenancy less than one week	91 days for a tenancy of one year or longer 28 days for a tenancy of six months or longer but less than one year 21 days for a tenancy of one month or longer but less than six months 3 days for a tenancy between one week and one month 1 day for a tenancy less than one week	CO Rev. Stat. § 13-40-107
Connecticut	No provision	3 days	CT Gen. Stat. § 47a-23
Delaware	60 days	60 days	DE Code tit. 25 § 5106
District of Columbia	30-120 days depending on the reason for termination	30-120 days depending on the reason for termination	DC Code § 42-3505.54
Florida	30 days	30 days	FL Stat. § 83.57
Georgia	30 days	60 days	GA Code § 44-7-7
Hawaii	28 days	45 days	HI Rev. Stat. § 521-71
Idaho	1 month	1 month	ID Stat. § 55-208
Illinois	30 days	30 days	735 ILCS 5/9-207
Indiana	30 days	30 days	IN Code § 32-31-1-1
Iowa	30 days	30 days	IA Code § 562A.34
Kansas	30 days	30 days	KS Stat. § 58-2570
Kentucky	30 days	30 days	KY Rev. Stat. § 383.695
Louisiana	10 days	10 days	LA Civ. Code Art. 2728
Maine	30 days	30 days	ME Stat. Tit. 14 § 6002
Maryland	30 days	60 days	MD Code, Real. Prop. § 8-402
Massachusetts	Longer of 30 days or interval between days of payment.	Longer of 30 days or interval between days of payment.	MA Gen. Laws ch. 186 § 12
Michigan	1 month	1 month	MI Comp. Laws § 554.134
Minnesota	Lesser of 3 months or the interval between the time rent is due.	Lesser of 3 months or the interval between the time rent is due.	MN Stat. § 504B.135
Mississippi	30 days	30 days	MS Code § 89-8-19
Missouri	1 month	1 month	MO Rev. Stat. § 441.060
Montana	30 days	30 days	MT Code § 70-24-441
Nebraska	30 days	30 days	NE Rev. Stat. § 76-1437
Nevada	30 days	30 days	NRS § 40.251
New Hampshire	30 days	30 days	NH Rev. Stat. § 540:3
New Jersey	1 month	1 month	NJ Stat. § 2A:18-56
New Mexico	30 days	30 days	NM Stat. § 47-8-37
New York	1 month	30 days	NY Real Prop. Law § 232-B and NY Real Prop. Law § 226-C
North Carolina	7 days	7 days	NC Gen. Stat. § 42-14
North Dakota	1 calendar month	1 calendar month	ND Cent. Code § 47-16-15
Ohio	30 days	30 days	OH Rev. Code § 5321.17
Oklahoma	30 days	30 days	OK Stat. tit. 41 § 111
Oregon	30 days	30 days	ORS § 90.427
Pennsylvania	No provision	15 days	68 PA Stat. § 250.501
Rhode Island	30 days	30 days	RI Gen. Laws § 34-18-37
South Carolina	30 days	30 days	SC Code § 27-40-770
South Dakota	15 days	30 days	SD Codified Laws § 43-32-13
Tennessee	30 days	30 days	TN Code § 66-28-512
Texas	1 month	1 month	TX Prop § 91.001
Utah	No provision	15 days	UT Code § 78B-6-802
Vermont	One rental payment period	30 days	9 V.S.A. § 4456 and 9 V.S.A. § 4467
Virginia	30 days	30 days	VA Code § 55.1-1253
Washington	20 days	60 days	WA Rev. Code § 59.18.200 and WA Rev. Code § 59.18.650
West Virginia	1 month	1 month	WV Code § 37-6-5
Wisconsin	28 days	28 days	WI Stat. § 704.19
Wyoming	No provision	No provision	n/a

How to Write a Lease Termination Letter

A lease termination letter helps you comply with local landlord-tenant laws and communicate your intentions. The writing process is similar for landlords and tenants, given that they follow their distinct requirements. Learn the steps involved below.

Step 1 – Review Your Lease & Local Laws

Study state laws before writing a lease termination letter, as they dictate the amount of notice you must give. Understand the differences between landlord and tenant obligations, as your required notice period may differ depending on who you are.

You must also consult the original lease to ensure compliance with termination clauses. If the lease requires more notice than state law, the lease’s provisions will typically apply, as state law only provides a minimum necessary notice period. However, if the lease requires less notice than state law, state law will override the lease.

If you don’t give enough notice of termination of the lease, you may not be able to terminate your lease early. Understand your obligations beforehand to avoid any confusion.

Step 2 – Clarify Which Party You Are

Identify your role in the agreement as the tenant or the landlord. Our guided form makes this step easy, allowing you to identify yourself at the beginning of the process. The wording will be updated in your final letter to reflect the parties’ identities. You must also list information about the other party, the tenant or the landlord, to address them properly.

Step 3 – Provide Termination Details

Include a deadline (date and time) for ending the lease. The timeline you give must comply with your state’s laws and the terms of your lease.

You can also include a lawful reason for the termination. State laws give guidance on what constitutes a legal versus an illegal reason. For example, a landlord’s lease termination letter might specify changing how they plan to use the property (legal) as a reason, but not the tenant’s cultural identity (illegal).

If you don’t provide a lawful reason, the other party can challenge the termination. In this case, you must keep fulfilling your obligations under the lease until the dispute is resolved.

Step 4 – Reference the Original Lease

The letter should list the property address and the date of the original lease and reference the section that includes the early termination clause. By offering this information, you bring clarity and certainty to the letter. There will be no doubt that you and the other party know which lease you are ending.

Step 5 – Finalize Details

A termination of lease letter should have a forwarding address. This tells the landlord where to send the security deposit or otherwise communicate with the tenant.

You can also indicate whether you want proof of service, which is an acknowledgment that someone has delivered the termination letter. Proof of service can be helpful, especially in refuting claims of improper or insufficient notice.

Lease Termination Letter Samples

View our sample lease termination letters to learn what they look like and understand which one you need. Then, create your own using our guided form. Available to download in PDF or Word format.

Sample Lease Termination Letter to Landlord

View an example of a tenant’s lease termination letter template (from a tenant to a landlord).

This is a document preview. Your customized version will be created after you answer a few quick questions.

Tenants-Notice-of-Lease-Termination

Sample Lease Termination Letter to Tenant

View an example of a landlord’s lease termination letter template (from a landlord to a tenant).

This is a document preview. Your customized version will be created after you answer a few quick questions.

Landlords-Notice-of-Lease-Termination

Landlords’ Obligations When Ending a Lease

As a landlord, you have certain obligations when you end a lease. You’ll have to return the tenant’s security deposit as outlined in your state’s laws and the lease, usually within 14 to 30 days. Landlords may keep part of the deposit for damage repair or cleaning costs if applicable.

You must also follow a rental inspection checklist to assess the property’s condition. This can help determine whether you need to keep part of the deposit or do any renovations before a new tenant comes in.

Send a security deposit return letter to the tenant to communicate any deductions.

Tenants’ Obligations When Ending a Lease

As a tenant, you have rights and obligations when ending a lease. You should make any necessary minor repairs and leave the unit in good condition. Follow the landlord’s instructions for moving out, such as where to deliver the keys.

If the landlord fails to return your security deposit, and you’re rightfully owed it back, talk to them about getting a partial or full refund. If speaking with your landlord doesn’t work, you can write and send a security deposit demand letter.

Lease Termination Letters – By State