Louisiana: Eviction Notice Requirements
The short answer
Louisiana is the only civil-law state, and its rules are unusually landlord-friendly. Before filing an eviction the landlord must deliver a written 'notice to vacate' giving at least 5 days to leave — but it is a demand to move out, not a chance to pay or cure, and the lease can waive even that 5-day notice, letting the landlord file immediately. Most Louisiana leases contain that waiver. To end a month-to-month tenancy the landlord gives 10 days' written notice before the end of the month, which doubles as the notice to vacate. Louisiana has no statewide just-cause requirement and no statutory right to pay overdue rent and stay.
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This is the general rule in Louisiana. Ezel applies current Louisiana law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | Louisiana is the only civil-law state — there is no landlord-tenant act. Eviction is set by the Code of Civil Procedure, Title XI: the notice to vacate and its waiver (art. 4701), door-attachment service when the tenant is gone (art. 4703), and the summary rule-to-show-cause eviction (arts. 4731-4733). Ending an indeterminate-term (e.g. month-to-month) lease is governed by Civil Code arts. 2728-2729; deadlines are computed under CCP art. 5059. Underlying lease duties live in the Civil Code lease articles (arts. 2668-2729) |
|---|---|
| Notice for unpaid rent | 5 days to vacate — not to pay. On nonpayment (or any termination), the landlord delivers a written notice to vacate allowing 'not less than five days from the date of its delivery' to leave (CCP art. 4701). It is a demand to move out, not a cure period; Louisiana has no statutory pay-or-quit. And the lease may waive the notice entirely, letting the landlord 'immediately institute eviction proceedings' — most Louisiana leases do. Because the period is under seven days, legal holidays within it are not counted (CCP art. 5059(C)(3)) |
| Notice for a lease violation | The same 5-day notice to vacate (CCP art. 4701); no separate cure-or-quit period. Louisiana's eviction statute uses one notice for every ground. Whether a breach actually ends the lease is a contract question under the Civil Code lease articles (dissolution for nonperformance), not a statutory cure schedule — and the lease can waive the 5-day notice here too |
| Unconditional quit (no cure allowed) | No separate no-cure category. Serious misconduct runs through the same 5-day notice to vacate as everything else (CCP art. 4701); if the lease waives that notice, the landlord may file at once. Louisiana's eviction statute has no shorter fast-track notice for nuisance, illegal use, or repeat violations |
| Ending a month-to-month tenancy | For a month-to-month lease, written notice given 'ten calendar days before the end of that month' (Civil Code art. 2728(2)) — 30 days for a term longer than a month, 5 days for a week-to-under-a-month period (art. 2728(1),(3)). That termination notice 'shall be considered as a notice to vacate' (CCP art. 4701), so no separate 5-day notice is needed. A fixed-term lease simply ends at its term |
| Just cause to evict required? | No statewide just-cause requirement. A month-to-month lease may be ended for no reason on the 10-day Civil Code art. 2728 notice; no state law limits the grounds (some local rules may exist — outside this survey's state-law scope) |
| How the notice must be served | The notice to vacate must be 'delivered to the lessee' (CCP art. 4701), and for a residence it must be 'in writing' (Civil Code art. 2729). If the premises are 'abandoned or closed, or if the whereabouts of the lessee... is unknown,' the notice 'may be attached to a door of the premises,' with the same effect as personal delivery (CCP art. 4703). Deadlines are computed under CCP art. 5059 |
| Tenant's right to cure/reinstate | Thin by design. Louisiana provides no statutory right to pay overdue rent and stay, and its eviction statutes contain no general anti-retaliation defense for private residential tenants — a sharp contrast with most states. A tenant's protections are contractual (the lease, read in the tenant's favor under Civil Code rules) and equitable. The landlord still may not use self-help: possession requires the court's rule to show cause and a warrant of possession (CCP arts. 4731-4733) |
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Requirements one by one
Notice for unpaid rent
When a tenant's right to stay ends "because of... nonpayment of rent, or for any
other reason," and the landlord wants possession, the landlord "shall cause
written notice to vacate the premises to be delivered to the lessee," and that
notice "shall allow the lessee not less than five days from the date of its
delivery to vacate" (CCP art. 4701). Read that carefully: it is a notice to
vacate, not a notice to pay. Louisiana has no statutory pay-or-quit period —
paying the back rent does not, by law, entitle you to stay. Whether a landlord
accepts late rent and calls off the eviction is up to the landlord.
Because the five-day period is "less than seven days," legal holidays that fall
within it are not counted (CCP art. 5059(C)(3)), so the real deadline can be
somewhat longer than five straight calendar days.
Notice for a lease violation
There is no separate cure-or-quit notice. A lease breach runs through the same
five-day notice to vacate as nonpayment (CCP art. 4701). Whether the breach even
ends the lease is a contract question decided under the Civil Code's lease
articles — a landlord seeking to dissolve the lease for the tenant's
nonperformance — not a statutory schedule of days to fix a specific problem.
Unconditional quit (no cure allowed)
Louisiana does not have a distinct fast-track "no-cure" eviction notice. Serious
misconduct — nuisance, illegal use, a repeat violation — is handled through the
ordinary five-day notice to vacate, or, if the lease waives notice, an immediate
filing. There is no shorter statutory notice keyed to the seriousness of the
conduct.
Ending a month-to-month tenancy
To end a month-to-month lease for no reason, the landlord gives written notice
"ten calendar days before the end of that month" (Civil Code art. 2728(2)). A
term measured in a period longer than a month needs 30 days; a period from a week
up to a month needs 5 days (art. 2728(1),(3)). This termination notice does
double duty: under CCP art. 4701, "the notice required by law for its termination
shall be considered as a notice to vacate," so the landlord does not serve a
second five-day notice. A fixed-term lease simply ends when the term runs out.
How the notice must be served
The notice to vacate must be "delivered to the lessee" (CCP art. 4701), and for a
residence it must be "in writing" (Civil Code art. 2729). If the tenant has left
or cannot be found — the premises are "abandoned or closed, or... the whereabouts
of the lessee... is unknown" — the notice "may be attached to a door of the
premises," which counts the same as personal delivery (CCP art. 4703). All the
deadlines are counted under the Code of Civil Procedure's time rules
(CCP art. 5059).
Tenant's right to cure/reinstate
This is where Louisiana differs most sharply from other states. There is no
statutory right to pay the overdue rent and stay, and the eviction statutes
contain no general anti-retaliation defense for private residential tenants. A
tenant's real protections are contractual — the lease itself, which Louisiana
courts read in the tenant's favor where it is ambiguous — plus the requirement
that the landlord actually go to court: if the tenant does not leave, the landlord
must file a "rule to show cause," get a judgment, and obtain a warrant of
possession (CCP arts. 4731-4733). Self-help lockouts are not allowed.
What trips people up
The lease can waive your 5-day notice entirely. Article 4701 lets the tenant
"waive the notice requirements of this Article by written waiver contained in the
lease," after which the landlord "may immediately institute eviction
proceedings." Most Louisiana residential leases contain this waiver, so many
tenants get no pre-filing notice at all — read your lease for a notice-waiver
clause.
"Notice to vacate" is not "notice to pay." Unlike the pay-or-quit notices in
most states, Louisiana's notice is a demand to leave. Paying the rent does not
give you a legal right to remain; only the landlord's agreement can do that.
A month-to-month tenant gets 10 days, and it's calendar days tied to the end of
the month. The 10-day notice under Civil Code art. 2728(2) must land at or
before ten calendar days before the month ends; a notice given later terminates
the lease only at the end of the next month.
Common questions
If I pay all the rent I owe, can I stop the eviction? Not as a matter of
Louisiana law. The notice is a demand to vacate, and there is no statutory
pay-and-stay right. A landlord may agree to accept payment and drop the case, but
is not required to.
My lease says I waive notice — is that enforceable? Yes. Louisiana expressly
allows a written notice-waiver in the lease (CCP art. 4701), and if you have one,
the landlord can file for eviction as soon as your right to occupy ends.
How much notice to end my month-to-month lease? Ten calendar days before the
end of the month (Civil Code art. 2728(2)). That notice also serves as the notice
to vacate, so no separate five-day notice follows.
Can my landlord just change the locks? No. Even with a valid notice or a
waiver, the landlord must go to court — file a rule to show cause, obtain a
judgment of eviction, and have the marshal execute a warrant of possession
(CCP arts. 4731-4733). Self-help eviction is unlawful.
Statutes and sources
- La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 4701 — termination of lease; the 5-day notice to vacate, the indeterminate-term notice doubling as a notice to vacate, and the lease notice-waiver.
https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=112073 (accessed 2026-07-10) - La. Civ. Code art. 2728 — timing to terminate an indeterminate-term lease: 10 calendar days month-to-month, 30 days for longer periods, 5 days for week-to-month.
https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=109792 (accessed 2026-07-10) - La. Civ. Code art. 2729 — form of the termination notice; writing required for a residence.
https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=109793 (accessed 2026-07-10) - La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 4703 — door-attachment service when the premises are abandoned or closed or the tenant's whereabouts are unknown.
https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=112075 (accessed 2026-07-10) - La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 5059 — computation of time; legal holidays not counted when the period is less than seven days.
https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=112147 (accessed 2026-07-10) - La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 4731 — rule to show cause; filing after the notice to vacate or a lease waiver.
https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=112078 (accessed 2026-07-10)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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