LA · Researched October 7, 2026
Louisiana leases are governed by the Civil Code (articles 2668 and following) and deposits by Title 9 of the Revised Statutes, which make Louisiana different from common-law states. Eviction starts with a notice to vacate of at least 5 days, which leases often waive, and deposits must be returned within one month of the lease ending with an itemized statement for any deductions. Managing property for others requires a Louisiana real estate license.
Louisiana defines property management as marketing, leasing or managing real property for others for a fee, and a property manager as one who collects rent, supervises maintenance and accounts for funds for another. Doing this for pay requires a license.
Owners and lessors acting on their own property, directly or through an employee; salaried employees of a licensed broker limited to delivering and receiving lease papers and payments, showing units under the broker's direction, giving information, and clerical or maintenance tasks; housing authority and HUD property managers; agricultural property managers; attorneys, receivers and court fiduciaries.
Brokers must keep bank statements, deposit slips and cancelled checks for all escrow or trust accounts for 5 years. Commission rules in the Louisiana Administrative Code (Title 46, Part LXVII) set escrow handling details, which were not reviewed here.
R.S. 9:3251 to 9:3254, Louisiana's deposit statutes, set no maximum deposit. Put the amount in the lease.
You may keep only what is reasonably needed to cover the tenant's default or unreasonable wear. Since August 1, 2026, the itemized statement may go out within one month after the tenancy ends or within 15 days after that one-month date. The tenant must give a forwarding address, and the rule does not apply if the tenant abandons without required notice or before the lease ends. Not refunding within 30 days after a written demand counts as willful, which costs the greater of $300 or twice the amount wrongly kept, and the court may award attorney fees.
R.S. 9:3251 to 9:3254 contain no interest or account rule. When the property is sold during a lease, the deposit must be transferred to the buyer, who becomes responsible for returning it. Licensed brokers holding deposits for owners must follow Commission escrow rules.
No statute capping residential late fees was found; the lease controls.
No statute capping application or screening fees was found. Follow federal FCRA rules.
Louisiana does not regulate rent increase amounts. During a fixed term, raise rent only if the lease allows it. For a month-to-month lease, a change is usually given with the same notice used to end the lease: 10 calendar days before the end of the month under Civil Code art. 2728.
No Louisiana parish or city has rent control. The specific preemption statute was not confirmed.
Louisiana uses a notice to vacate rather than a pay-or-quit notice. A written waiver in the lease lets the landlord file right away once the right of occupancy ends. Properties covered by the federal CARES Act need a 30-day notice for nonpayment. A tenant under an oral lease who does not pay within 20 days after a written demand can be liable for attorney fees (R.S. 9:3259).
The notice to vacate applies to any ground for ending the lease, including violations, and the Code of Civil Procedure gives no right to cure. A lease may waive the notice in writing. Only a court judgment and warrant can remove the tenant.
For leases longer than a month, notice is due 30 days before the period ends; for periods of at least a week but less than a month, 5 days. A notice ends the lease at the end of the period it names, or the first period for which it is timely. For a month-to-month lease, that termination notice also serves as the notice to vacate.
The court tries the rule and, if the landlord wins or the tenant does not appear, renders a judgment of eviction immediately. If the tenant does not leave within 24 hours, the court issues a warrant for the sheriff, constable or marshal to deliver possession.
Signs of abandonment include residential occupancy stopping, keys returned, and furnishings removed. For 30 days after a federal disaster declaration in the parish, leaving the unit does not count as abandonment. Violations let a residential tenant recover the greater of $500 or twice the monthly rent.
Louisiana law requires the lessor to protect the tenant's peaceful possession, but no fixed entry notice period was found. Put entry terms in the lease.
If you do not repair within a reasonable time after the tenant's demand, the tenant may make necessary repairs and deduct the reasonable cost from rent. Urgent repairs may be made mid-lease, but the tenant may get a rent reduction or dissolution. When a home becomes uninhabitable through no fault of the tenant, the landlord must mitigate damages.
State-specific move-in disclosures were not confirmed. Federal lead paint disclosure applies to pre-1978 housing.
The Louisiana Equal Housing Opportunity Act adds military status and hairstyle to the federal classes. In buildings with six or more units, landlords also may not refuse, end or fail to renew a lease because a tenant is a domestic abuse victim (R.S. 9:3261.1). New Orleans has a local ordinance with more protected classes.
The landlord's itemized statement of deposit deductions may be sent within one month after the tenancy ends or within 15 days after that date.
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Compare with other states: security deposit limit, deposit return deadline, deposit interest and holding rules, late fees, application and screening fees, rent increase notice, rent control, notice for unpaid rent, notice for lease violations, ending a month-to-month, eviction timeline, abandoned property, landlord entry, repairs and habitability, required disclosures, state fair housing protections.