Eviction Notice for Nonpayment of Rent

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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.

Evictions for Nonpayment of Rent by State

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)

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)

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 3 days 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. None Yes

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.

14-Day Notice for 1st violation

7-Day Notice (for 2nd nonpayment within 6 months, not allowed to pay to avoid eviction)

72-hour Notice (given on 8th day of rental period)

144-hour Notice (given on 5th day of rental period)

5-Day Notice (less than three months’ rent owed)

10-Day Notice (more than three months’ rent owed)

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.

Verbal leases—20-Day Notice

Written leases—5-Day Notice

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

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.

Avoiding Eviction for Nonpayment of Rent

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.