More than 100 million Americans rent, outnumbering homeowners by two to one. While the majority of leases get signed and completed without issue, this doesn’t happen for everyone. 

Sometimes, either the tenant or landlord wishes to end their lease early. This requires an end of tenancy notice. This lets the other party know you wish to terminate the lease early. 

This guide will help you understand how you would use this notice and when it’s appropriate. 

Tenant Notice to Landlord 

While you may have had every intention of fulfilling your lease agreement, life had other plans. Now you need to let your landlord know that you wish to terminate the lease. To do this, you’ll need to send a notice to quit. 

This notice needs to be in writing and include your forwarding address, current date, date of termination, and tenant’s signature. You also need to check the lease and include anything required by the lease. 

Just because you want to terminate early doesn’t mean you can skip all of your regular duties. Get an end of tenancy cleaning price so that you leave the property in clean condition and get your deposit back. 

Notice to Terminate for Cause 

Sometimes a tenant wishes to terminate their lease with the landlord for a cause. This typically happens when the landlord fails to fulfill their side of the lease. A common reason is a landlord failing to fix problems that affect the warranty of habitability. 

• Broken toilet
• Not working heat 
• Pest infestation 

However, as the tenant, you’re required to give the landlord a specific amount of time to make the repairs after the written notice. This length of time depends on whether the issue is critical or not and your particular state’s laws. 

Landlord Notice to Tenant 

Sometimes as the landlord, you’ll need to send a lease termination letter. This doesn’t mean that the tenant committed a lease violation or that you want to evict them. It doesn’t happen often, but perhaps you want to move back into the rental, looking to sell it, or want to do some major renovations. 

Check your state laws to ensure there are no restrictions on you as the landlord asking the tenant to vacate the property. 

Notice to Terminate for Cause 

If your tenant violates the lease in some way, you may also send a notice to terminate. This happens if the tenant fails to pay the rent, brings in unauthorized pets, or has guests living on the property. 

You must include the reason when sending this type of notice. The tenant should also have a specific amount of time to correct the issue. Some issues, such as property damage, don’t require the tenant to make the corrections. 

Prepare Your End of Tenancy Notice

Whether you’re the landlord or the tenant, you may find yourself needing to prepare an end of tenancy notice. These are most common with a month-to-month lease but can also be used for longer leases. 

Check your state’s landlord/tenant law and your lease to ensure you follow proper protocols. This ensures you fulfill all applicable requirements. 

Check out our other lifestyle articles for more tips and tricks to common dilemmas in life.