The eviction notice for nonpayment of rent (“pay or quit notice”) is a legal document a landlord provides to a tenant stating that rent is past-due and that the tenant will need to either pay the amount or move out within a certain number of days. Laws regarding eviction notices for nonpayment of rent vary by state, such as the notice period, whether the tenant is given the chance to pay rent before the eviction proceeds, and whether a written notice is even required to start the eviction process in the first place.
We take a state-by-state look at the notice period requirements and whether tenants can pay to avoid eviction in the chart below.
| State | Notice Period | Can Pay and Avoid Eviction? |
| Alabama | 7 days | Yes |
| Alaska | 7 days | Yes |
| Arizona | 5 days | Yes |
| Arkansas* | 10 days (criminal actions 3 days (civil actions) | No |
| California | 3 days | Yes |
| Colorado* | 3/5/10 days | Yes |
| Connecticut | 3 days | No |
| Delaware | 5 days | Yes |
| Florida | 3 days | Yes |
| Georgia | Not specified | Yes |
| Hawaii | 5 days | Yes |
| Idaho | 3 days | Yes |
| Illinois | 5 days | Yes |
| Indiana | 10 days | Yes |
| Iowa | 3 days | Yes |
| Kansas | 3 days | Yes |
| Kentucky | 7 days | Yes |
| Louisiana* | 5/20 days | No |
| Maine* | Varies | Maybe |
| Maryland | None | Yes |
| Massachusetts | 14 days | Yes |
| Michigan | 7 days | Yes |
| Minnesota | 14 days (at-will tenants) None (all other tenancies) | Yes |
| Mississippi | 3 days | Yes |
| Missouri | None | Yes |
| Montana | 3 days | Yes |
| Nebraska | 7 days | Yes |
| Nevada | 7 days | Yes |
| New Hampshire | 7 days | Yes |
| New Jersey | None | Yes |
| New Mexico | 3 days | Yes |
| New York | 14 days | Yes |
| North Carolina | 10 days | Yes |
| North Dakota | 3 days | Yes |
| Ohio | 3 days | Yes |
| Oklahoma* | 5/10 days | Yes |
| Oregon* | 72/144 hours | Yes |
| Pennsylvania | 10 days | Yes |
| Rhode Island | 5 days | Yes |
| South Carolina | 5 days | Yes |
| South Dakota [1] [2] | None | No |
| Tennessee* | 7/14 days | 14 days: yes 7 days: no |
| Texas | 3 days | No |
| Utah | 3 days | Yes |
| Vermont | 14 days | Yes |
| Virginia | 5 days | Yes |
| Washington | 14 days | Yes |
| West Virginia | None | Yes |
| Wisconsin* | 5/14/30 days | 5/30 days: yes 14 days: no |
| Wyoming | 3 days | Yes |
| Washington, D.C. | 30 days [3] | Yes |
Wisconsin
Leases under one year—5-Day Notice
Leases more than one year—30-Day Notice At-will tenants—5 Day Notice (allowed to pay past-due rent to avoid eviction)
At-will tenants—14-Day Notice (not allowed to pay past-due rent to avoid eviction) Tenants with written leases must be given the option to pay past due rent in order to avoid eviction. Tennessee
14-Day Notice for 1st violation 7-Day Notice (for 2nd nonpayment within 6 months, not allowed to pay to avoid eviction) Oregon
72-hour Notice (given on 8th day of rental period) 144-hour Notice (given on 5th day of rental period) Oklahoma
5-Day Notice (less than three months’ rent owed) 10-Day Notice (more than three months’ rent owed) Maine
At-will tenants—7-Day Notice; must be given the opportunity to pay to avoid eviction Written leases—Amount of notice is specified in the lease; may not have the ability to pay in order to avoid eviction. Louisiana
Verbal leases—20-Day Notice Written leases—5-Day Notice Colorado
3-Day Notice—tenants who have been provided a rental unit by their employer 5-Day Notice—tenants whose landlords have five or fewer rental units 10-Day Notice—all other tenancies Arkansas
In Arkansas, landlords can pursue either a civil unlawful detainer (eviction) case against tenants who are past-due on rent, or they can pursue a criminal case against tenants for nonpayment of rent. Civil actions require 3 days’ notice, while criminal actions require 10 days’ notice.
In nearly every state, tenants are allowed to pay the full amount of past-due rent (plus any additional late fees/court costs, if applicable) in order to avoid being evicted. In some states, payment can only be made within the notice period in order to avoid eviction, while other states allow tenants to pay past-due rent even after the order for eviction has been issued if that payment is received before the order is finalized. In each of those cases, the eviction proceedings will be stopped and the tenant is allowed to remain in the rental unit. However, in some states, paying past-due rent in order to avoid being evicted is not an option. In these states, the landlord can proceed with the eviction process if the tenant remains on the property after the notice period expires.
1 S.D. Cod. L. §21-16-1(4) - (7) (4) If a lessee in person or by subtenants holds over after the termination of his lease or expiration of his term, or fails to pay his rent for three days after the same shall be due; (5) If a party continues in possession after a sale of the real property or occupied structure under mortgage, execution, order, or any judicial process, after the expiration of the time fixed by law for redemption, and after the execution and delivery of a deed or instrument of ownership; (6) If a party continues in possession after a judgment in partition, or after a sale under an order or decree of a circuit court; (7) If a lessee commits waste upon the leased premises, or does or fails to perform any act which, under the terms of the lease operates to terminate the same. Source Link 2 S.D. Cod. L. § 21-16-7 Time for appearance by defendant. The time for appearance and pleading shall be five days from the time of service on the defendant or thirty days after the publication of service under § 21-16-6.1, whichever occurs sooner. No adjournment or continuance shall be made for more than fourteen days, unless the defendant applying therefor shall give an undertaking to the plaintiff with good and sufficient surety to be approved by the court, conditioned for the payment of the rent that may accrue, together with costs if judgment be rendered against the defendant. Source Link 3 D.C. Code § 42–3505.01(a)(1) Except as provided in this section, no tenant shall be evicted from a rental unit, notwithstanding the expiration of the tenant’s lease or rental agreement, so long as the tenant continues to pay the rent to which the housing provider is entitled for the rental unit; provided, that the nonpayment of a late fee shall not be the basis for an eviction. No tenant shall be evicted from a rental unit for any reason unless the tenant has been served with a written notice which meets the requirements of this section. Notices for all reasons other than for nonpayment of rent shall be served upon both the tenant and the Rent Administrator. Source Link
