Tennessee: Month-to-Month Tenancy Termination Notice Requirements
The short answer
In the Tennessee counties covered by the state's landlord-tenant act — those over 75,000 in population, which take in the major metro areas — either the landlord or the tenant may end a month-to-month tenancy with at least 30 days' written notice. The clock is the same for both sides, and the notice must name a periodic rental date as the termination date. Tennessee has no statewide 'just cause' law. In the smaller counties the act does not apply and common law governs.
Ask Ezel about your situation
This is the general rule in Tennessee. Ezel applies current Tennessee law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-512(b), part of the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA), governs ending a month-to-month tenancy. That act 'applies only in counties having a population of more than seventy-five thousand (75,000)' (§ 66-28-102(a)) — the metro counties. In the smaller counties the act does not apply and a periodic tenancy is ended under common law. Notice mechanics come from § 66-28-106, permitted lease terms from § 66-28-201, and unwaivable tenant protections from § 66-28-203. Scope here is a no-fault termination; nonpayment and lease-breach terminations follow separate sections |
|---|---|
| Landlord's notice period | At least 30 days in a covered county. The landlord 'may terminate a month-to-month tenancy by a written notice given to the other at least thirty (30) days prior to the periodic rental date specified in the notice' (§ 66-28-512(b)). There is no longer landlord-only clock and no occupancy-length tier |
| Tenant's notice period | At least 30 days — the same as the landlord's. Section 66-28-512(b) applies to 'the landlord or the tenant' alike, so the clock is symmetric: a tenant gives the identical 30 days' written notice |
| When termination takes effect | The termination date must be a 'periodic rental date' — the day the next rent installment comes due — and the notice must be given at least 30 days before it (§ 66-28-512(b)). For a tenancy with rent due on the first, a notice must reach the other side at least 30 days before a first-of-the-month rent date; a notice too late for the next such date rolls the termination to the following one |
| Form and required contents | Written notice, always ('a written notice,' § 66-28-512(b)). Notice of a fact is given by 'actual knowledge' or by 'written notice' (§ 66-28-106(a)). The statute requires the notice to specify the periodic rental date that is the termination date; beyond writing and that date, it prescribes no particular form or required language for a no-cause month-to-month termination |
| How notice must be delivered | The act's notice rule is short: 'All parties must give written notice to the last known or designated address contained in the lease agreement' (§ 66-28-106(b)). Unlike some URLTA states, this section sets no certified-mail method and no deemed-receipt-after-mailing rule; deliver the written notice to the other side's lease address. A landlord who has not disclosed an address becomes an agent for receiving notices under § 66-28-302 |
| What the lease can change | The lease may include 'terms and conditions not prohibited by this chapter or other rule of law' (§ 66-28-201(a)), but 'the tenant cannot agree to waive or forego rights or remedies under this chapter' (§ 66-28-203(b)); a prohibited provision 'is unenforceable' (§ 66-28-203(a)-(b)). So the 30-day statutory notice is a floor the lease cannot cut against the tenant |
| Just-cause limits | Tennessee has no statewide just-cause law. Under § 66-28-512(b) either party may end a month-to-month tenancy with 30 days' notice for any reason or none; no stated cause and no relocation payment are required. A tenant who holds over faces 'an action for possession, back rent and reasonable attorney's fees,' plus actual damages and fees if the holdover 'is willful and not in good faith' (§ 66-28-512(c)). Local governments may add requirements; in a non-URLTA county the answer is set by common law and the lease rather than by this section |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
Requirements one by one
Governing law
Tennessee's rule depends on the county. The state's Uniform Residential Landlord and
Tenant Act (URLTA) supplies a clean 30-day rule — but "this chapter applies only in
counties having a population of more than seventy-five thousand (75,000)"
(§ 66-28-102(a)). That covers Tennessee's metro counties (Shelby/Memphis,
Davidson/Nashville, Knox/Knoxville, Hamilton/Chattanooga, and others), where most
renters live. In the smaller counties the Act does not apply, and a month-to-month
tenancy is ended under common law and the lease rather than under the statute below.
This page is about a no-fault termination; ending a tenancy for unpaid rent or a
lease breach runs through separate sections and a court process.
Landlord's notice period
In a covered county, a landlord ending a month-to-month tenancy gives "a written
notice given to the other at least thirty (30) days prior to the periodic rental date
specified in the notice" (§ 66-28-512(b)). It is a flat 30 days — no longer
landlord-only clock, and no tier that turns on how long the tenant has lived there.
When termination takes effect
The termination date is not simply "30 days from today"; it must be a periodic
rental date — the day the next rent installment comes due — with the notice given at
least 30 days before that date (§ 66-28-512(b)). For a tenancy with rent due on the
first, a notice has to reach the other party at least 30 days before a first-of-the-
month rent date. Miss that window and the termination rolls to the next rent date.
How notice must be delivered
The Act's notice rule is brief: "All parties must give written notice to the last
known or designated address contained in the lease agreement" (§ 66-28-106(b)). There
is no certified-mail requirement and no rule deeming a mailed notice received after a
set number of days — so deliver the written notice to the address the lease gives.
If a landlord never disclosed an address as the Act requires, that landlord "becomes
an agent ... for the purpose of service of process and receiving ... notices"
(§ 66-28-302).
What the lease can change
A lease may set "terms and conditions not prohibited by this chapter or other rule of
law" (§ 66-28-201(a)), but it cannot strip the tenant's statutory protections: "The
tenant cannot agree to waive or forego rights or remedies under this chapter"
(§ 66-28-203(b)), and any prohibited provision "is unenforceable." So the 30-day
notice is a floor a lease cannot cut against the tenant.
Just-cause limits
Tennessee has no statewide just-cause law. Under § 66-28-512(b) either side may end a
month-to-month tenancy with 30 days' notice for any reason or none; the statute
requires no stated cause and no relocation payment. The consequences run against a
tenant who overstays: a holdover exposes the tenant to "an action for possession,
back rent and reasonable attorney's fees," and — if "willful and not in good faith" —
actual damages plus fees (§ 66-28-512(c)). Remember the county limit: in a non-URLTA
county, common law and the lease set the answer instead.
What trips people up
Whether the statute applies depends on your county. The 30-day rule lives in an
act that "applies only in counties having a population of more than seventy-five
thousand" (§ 66-28-102(a)). In a smaller county, don't rely on § 66-28-512 — common
law governs, and a lawyer can tell you what notice it requires.
Count backward from a rent date. The end date must be "the periodic rental date
specified in the notice," with 30 days before it (§ 66-28-512(b)). A notice that gives
30 days but lands mid-month, off any rent date, is mistimed.
The clock is the same both ways. Section 66-28-512(b) governs "the landlord or the
tenant" together — a departing tenant and a landlord each give 30 days.
Common questions
I rent month-to-month in Nashville and want to move out. How much notice? At least
30 days' written notice, ending on a rent-due date and delivered at least 30 days
before it (§ 66-28-512(b)); Davidson County is over 75,000, so the Act applies.
Does my landlord need a reason to end my month-to-month tenancy? Not under state
law. Tennessee has no statewide just-cause rule, so a proper 30-day no-cause notice is
enough (§ 66-28-512(b)) — check local rules for your city.
I live in a rural county. Does the 30-day statute apply to me? Maybe not. The Act
applies only in counties over 75,000 in population (§ 66-28-102(a)); in a smaller
county, common law and your lease govern the notice.
Statutes and sources
- Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-512 — termination of a periodic tenancy: 30 days' written notice to end a month-to-month tenancy tied to a periodic rental date (b), the 10-day week-to-week rule (a), and the holdover remedies (c).
https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-66/chapter-28/part-5/section-66-28-512/ (accessed 2026-07-15) - Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-102 — application: the Act governs only counties over 75,000 in population (a).
https://unicourt.github.io/cic-code-tn/transforms/tn/octn/r74/gov.tn.tca.title.66.html (accessed 2026-07-15) - Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-106 — notice: written notice to the last known or designated lease address (b).
https://unicourt.github.io/cic-code-tn/transforms/tn/octn/r74/gov.tn.tca.title.66.html (accessed 2026-07-15) - Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-203 — prohibited provisions: a tenant cannot waive or forego rights or remedies under the Act, and such terms are unenforceable (a)-(b).
https://unicourt.github.io/cic-code-tn/transforms/tn/octn/r74/gov.tn.tca.title.66.html (accessed 2026-07-15)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
Get the answer for your situation
You just read how Tennessee handles this in general. Ezel applies current Tennessee law to your facts and answers your specific question, with citations.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer cites the authority it relies on.