Eviction Notice Rules by State 2026: What to Serve Before Filing

In most states, a landlord must serve the right written notice, the right way, and let it run out before filing an eviction case. The waiting period depends on the reason. Florida gives a tenant 3 days to pay rent, not counting weekends and court holidays, while New York and Washington give 14 days.¹²³ Federal law can add more time on top: a 30-day notice at many federally backed or subsidized properties, a 30-day nonpayment notice at public housing and project-based Section 8, and a court order before evicting a servicemember's household when rent is $10,542.60 a month or less in 2026.⁴⁵⁶

This guide covers the three kinds of notices with verified state examples, how notices must be served, the federal rules, and what happens after the notice runs. For every state, see the comparisons at /laws and the state pages at /states.

The three notices and why the details decide the case

Almost every eviction starts with one of three notices.

• Nonpayment. A pay-or-quit (or pay-or-vacate) notice gives the tenant a set number of days to pay the rent owed or move out.
• Lease violation. A cure-or-quit notice gives the tenant time to fix a breach. For serious or repeat breaches, many states allow an unconditional notice to quit with no chance to cure.
• No-fault termination. A notice ending a month-to-month tenancy, or declining to renew, with no tenant fault alleged. In just cause states, this notice needs a reason the statute allows.

A defective notice can end a case before it starts. In Sherwood Auburn LLC v. Pinzon, a Washington appeals court held that because the landlord's notice did not comply with federal law, the trial court "was without the authority" to issue a writ of restitution or enter judgment, and it reversed.⁷ Content rules are specific. California's 3-day notice to pay must state the amount due and the name, telephone number and address of the person to pay, and Oregon's nonpayment notice must state the amount and the date and time by which the tenant must pay.⁸⁹

Money taken during the notice period can also cause trouble. In Florida, a landlord who accepts partial rent after posting a nonpayment notice must give a receipt stating the balance and due date, deposit the partial payment into the court registry when filing, or post a new 3-day notice.¹

Nonpayment notices: 3 days to 14 days

Among the states we checked, pay-or-quit periods run from about three business days to 14 days. These five show the range.

California sits at the short end with Florida: 3 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and judicial holidays.⁸ Virginia sits at the long end with New York and Washington at 14 days.¹¹ New Jersey is an exception to the pattern: the state's housing agency says no notice to quit is required before filing for nonpayment, though one is required for its other good cause grounds.¹²

The counting rules matter as much as the number. Oregon sets the earliest day the notice can be served, and Florida and California skip weekends and court holidays. Compare all states at /laws/pay-or-quit-notice-by-state, and see the delinquency playbook for the steps before a notice goes out.

Lease violation notices: from immediate to 30 days

Lease violation rules vary widely. The states below give a cure period for ordinary breaches and a shorter unconditional notice for dangerous conduct.

In California, tenants covered by the state's just cause law get one more step. For a curable violation, the owner must first give a notice with a chance to cure, and only then serve a 3-day notice to quit without one.¹³ See every state at /laws/lease-violation-notice-by-state.

No-fault terminations and just cause states

For a month-to-month tenancy with no tenant fault, these five states run from one week to three months.

Those are only the minimums. In just cause states, a landlord cannot end many tenancies without a reason the statute lists, no matter how much notice is given.

California. After a tenant has lawfully occupied a unit for 12 months, the owner cannot end the tenancy without just cause, and the cause must be stated in the written notice. For a no-fault cause, such as owner move-in or a substantial remodel, the owner must pay relocation assistance or waive rent equal to one month's rent. The section is set to expire on January 1, 2030.¹³

Oregon. After the first year of occupancy, a landlord may end a month-to-month tenancy only for tenant cause or a qualifying landlord reason. Qualifying reasons include demolition, owner or family move-in, and a sale to a buyer who will live there. They need 90 days' written notice that states the reason and supporting facts, plus one month's rent paid with the notice. Landlords with an ownership interest in four or fewer units are exempt from the payment.⁹

Washington. A landlord may not evict, refuse to continue a tenancy, or end a periodic tenancy except for causes listed in RCW 59.18.650. Lease breaches need a notice giving at least 10 days to comply. Waste, nuisance or unlawful activity allows a 3-day notice to quit. Owner move-in and sale of a single-family home each require 90 days' notice. The current version of the section runs until January 1, 2028.¹⁹

New Jersey. Under the Anti-Eviction Act, a landlord may not evict or decline to renew a residential lease without good cause, according to the state Department of Community Affairs. The department says the law may not apply to owner-occupied buildings of two or three units with no more than two rental units.¹²

New York has a narrower good cause law. Its notice statute requires landlords to state whether a unit is covered by the "good cause eviction law" and, for a covered unit they will not renew, the lawful basis.¹⁸ Compare state periods at /laws/month-to-month-termination-notice-by-state.

How the notice has to be served

A notice that is never legally served has not started the clock. States list the methods they allow, and many add days when you mail.

• California. Personal delivery; or, if the tenant is absent from home and work, leaving a copy with a person of suitable age and discretion and mailing a copy; or, if neither works, posting a copy on the property, delivering a copy to a resident if one can be found, and mailing a copy.²⁰ Notices ending a periodic tenancy may also go by certified or registered mail.¹⁷
• Washington. Similar methods. When service includes mailing, the statute allows five additional days before the landlord can file.²¹
• Florida. Mailing, hand delivery, or leaving a copy at the residence if the tenant is absent. A lease cannot waive these notice rules.¹ Since 2025, e-mail also works, but only if both sides signed a separate addendum electing e-mail notices. The sender must keep a copy and evidence of transmission.²²
• Oregon. Personal delivery or first class mail. Mail plus posting at the main entrance works only if the written lease provides for it both ways. E-mail works only under a written addendum signed after the tenant moves in.⁹
• Arizona. Hand delivery or registered or certified mail. A mailed notice is treated as received on the date the tenant actually receives it or five days after mailing, whichever comes first.²³

HUD-assisted projects have their own rule under 24 CFR 247.4. The landlord must mail the notice first class and also serve it at the unit, handing it to an adult who answers the door, or slipping it under the door or affixing it if no one answers. Service is not complete until both are done.⁵

Federal rules on top of state law

CARES Act 30-day notice to vacate

Section 4024(c) of the CARES Act, codified at 15 U.S.C. 9058(c), says the lessor of a covered dwelling "may not require the tenant to vacate" before 30 days after the lessor gives a notice to vacate.⁴ A covered property is one that takes part in a covered housing program or the rural housing voucher program, or that has a federally backed mortgage loan.⁴ Covered housing programs include public housing and Section 8, low income housing tax credit properties, HOME, Section 202 and Section 811.²⁴ A federally backed loan includes one insured, guaranteed or assisted by a federal agency, or purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, for 1 to 4 family and 5-plus family property alike.⁴

The 120-day filing moratorium in the same section ended in 2020. Courts disagree on whether the 30-day notice ended with it.

• Still required, with 30 days to pay. In Sherwood Auburn LLC v. Pinzon (2022), the Washington Court of Appeals held the landlord "was required to provide a clear 30-day notice to pay rent or vacate the premises" and reversed the eviction.⁷
• Expired. In MIMG CLXXII Retreat on 6th, LLC v. Miller (January 2025, amended April 2025), the Iowa Supreme Court held the provision applies only to tenants who fell behind on rent during the 120-day moratorium.²⁵ In Barrera v. Sedona Pointe LLC (June 12, 2026), the Arizona Court of Appeals reached the same result. It also noted that most state courts that have ruled, including courts in Colorado, Indiana and Ohio, treat the notice as still in effect, and that those courts split on whether it is a 30-day cure period or only 30 days before removal.²⁶

Congress may settle it. H.R. 1078, the Respect State Housing Laws Act, would strike subsection (c). The House Financial Services Committee reported it on February 25, 2026, and that is still its latest action.²⁷²⁸ Until a change becomes law, a notice giving 30 days to pay or vacate at a covered property satisfies every reading described above. Ask every owner about the loan and any subsidy, and record the answer.

HUD's 30-day nonpayment notice for public housing and project-based Section 8

HUD's final rule of December 13, 2024 requires public housing agencies and owners of project-based rental assistance properties to give written notice at least 30 days before filing an eviction for nonpayment. It took effect January 13, 2025.²⁹ It covers Section 8 project-based rental assistance, Section 202 and 811 project rental assistance contracts, and similar project-based programs.²⁹ Under the amended 24 CFR 247.4 and 966.4, the notice must:

• Itemize the rent owed by month and state the date by which the tenant must pay to avoid a filing.
• Explain how to recertify income and, where it applies, how to request a hardship exemption.
• Not be served before the day after rent is due.

The landlord may not file if the tenant pays the amount owed within the 30 days.⁵³⁰ Public housing agencies had until June 15, 2026 to add the required 30-day provision to their leases.²⁹ A state notice to vacate may run at the same time as a public housing lease termination notice.³⁰

The status changed twice in 2026. On February 26, HUD published an interim final rule revoking the 30-day requirement, effective March 30.³¹ On March 13, after advocacy groups sued in federal court in Washington, D.C., HUD delayed that rule indefinitely and said it will treat it as a proposed rule until it issues a final rule.³² We found no final rule in the Federal Register as of October 7, 2026. The eCFR, current through October 5, 2026, still shows the 30-day text, with a note that the revocation is delayed.⁵ For now, the 30-day notice is the rule.

SCRA protection for servicemembers

Under 50 U.S.C. 3951, a landlord may not evict a servicemember, or the servicemember's dependents, during military service except by court order, when the home is a residence and rent is at or below an inflation-adjusted cap.³³ The Department of Defense set the 2026 cap at $10,542.60 a month, effective January 1, 2026.⁶ The court can stay the case for 90 days when military service materially affects the ability to pay, and knowingly taking part in an eviction that violates the section is a federal misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison.³³ Before any default judgment, the landlord must file an affidavit stating whether the tenant is in military service.³⁴ More federal summaries are at /federal.

After the notice: court timelines, self-help bans and leftover property

Court timelines. Once the notice expires, the case moves on the court's clock. In Arizona, the tenant must appear 3 to 6 days after the summons issues. For a material and irreparable breach, trial must be set within 3 days of filing, and possession is restored 12 to 24 hours after a judgment for the landlord.³⁵ In Florida, the sheriff posts 24 hours' notice before putting the landlord in possession, and weekends do not stop that clock.³⁶ See all states at /laws/eviction-timeline-by-state.

Self-help evictions. These states bar landlords from locking out or removing a tenant without going through court, and set the penalties by statute.

• California: actual damages plus up to $100 a day, with at least $250 for each cause of action, and attorney's fees to the winner.³⁷
• Florida: actual and consequential damages or 3 months' rent, whichever is greater, plus fees.³⁸
• Oregon: the greater of two months' rent or twice actual damages.⁹
• Washington: removing or excluding a tenant without a court order is unlawful, and the tenant may recover possession, damages and attorney's fees.³⁹

Belongings left behind. In the District of Columbia, the eviction date notice must go out at least 21 days ahead. Belongings stay in the unit for 7 days after the eviction, excluding Sundays and federal holidays, and the former tenant gets at least 16 hours of access with no rent or storage fees.⁴⁰ In Washington, the landlord must store the property if the tenant asks in writing within three days after service of the writ. Stored property worth over $250 can be sold 30 days after a notice of sale.⁴¹ In Florida, the landlord may move property to or near the property line when the writ is executed.³⁶ Compare states at /laws/abandoned-property-laws-by-state, and see the move-out and turnover playbook.

What to do now: pre-filing checklist

• Confirm the reason for termination and pick the matching notice: nonpayment, lease violation or no-fault.
• Check whether the unit falls under a state or local just cause law, and state the cause in the notice.¹³¹⁹
• Record whether the property has a federally backed mortgage or takes part in a covered housing program, and use a 30-day notice where 15 U.S.C. 9058 may apply.⁴²⁴
• At public housing or project-based Section 8, use the HUD 30-day nonpayment notice with the itemized balance, cure date and recertification information.⁵³⁰
• Count the notice period with the state's rules on weekends, holidays and mailing days.¹²¹
• Serve by a method the statute lists, and keep proof of service, plus the e-mail addendum and transmission record if you use e-mail.²⁰²²
• Decide in advance how to handle partial payments during the notice period.¹
• Run a military status check and prepare the SCRA affidavit before any default judgment.³⁴
• Ban lockouts, utility shutoffs and removal of belongings in writing for staff and vendors.³⁷³⁸
• Put a check for HUD's final rule on the 30-day notice and H.R. 1078 on your compliance calendar.³²²⁸

This article explains what the rules say as of October 7, 2026. It is not legal advice for a specific eviction, and local ordinances can add requirements.