Louisiana: Month-to-Month Tenancy Termination Notice Requirements
The short answer
Louisiana is a civil-law outlier with a short clock. Either the landlord or the tenant may end a month-to-month lease with at least 10 calendar days' notice before the end of the month — not 30. The clock is the same for both sides, and the lease ends at the end of the month. For a home, the notice must be in writing. Louisiana has no statewide 'just cause' law, so a timely no-cause notice needs no reason under state law.
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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 civil law governs. A month-to-month tenancy is a 'lease with an indeterminate term,' which 'terminates by notice to that effect given to the other party by the party desiring to terminate the lease' (La. Civ. Code art. 2727); the timing is in art. 2728 and the form in art. 2729. Such a term often arises by 'reconduction' — a fixed-term lease that continues past its end date becomes indeterminate. Recovering possession runs through the eviction articles (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 4701). Scope here is a no-fault termination; nonpayment (art. 2704) is outside this survey |
|---|---|
| Landlord's notice period | At least 10 calendar days before the end of the month — a distinctively short period. Article 2728 provides the notice must be given '(2) In a month-to-month lease, ten calendar days before the end of that month.' The clock is set by 'the party desiring to terminate the lease' (art. 2727), so it is the same for a landlord. A lease measured by a period longer than a month instead takes 30 days (art. 2728(1)) |
| Tenant's notice period | The same — at least 10 calendar days before the end of the month (art. 2728(2)), because art. 2727 lets 'the party desiring to terminate' give the notice. In addition, for a tenant, 'surrender of possession to the lessor at the time at which notice of termination shall be given under Article 2728 shall constitute notice of termination by the lessee' (art. 2729) — moving out and handing over the premises on time can itself serve as the tenant's notice |
| When termination takes effect | End of the month. The 10 days is measured 'before the end of that month' (art. 2728(2)), and the notice 'terminates the lease at the end of the period specified in the notice, and, if none is specified, at the end of the first period for which the notice is timely' (art. 2728). So a notice given at least 10 days before month-end ends the lease at that month-end; a notice given too late rolls to the end of the following month |
| Form and required contents | For a home, the notice must be written. 'If the leased thing is an immovable or is a movable used as residence, the notice of termination shall be in writing' (art. 2729) — an oral notice is allowed only for non-residential leases. Article 2728 lets the notice specify a termination date; if it does not, the lease ends at the first month-end for which the notice was timely. No other particular contents are prescribed for a no-fault termination |
| How notice must be delivered | The Civil Code articles do not prescribe a delivery method for the termination notice, so deliver the written notice in a way that fixes the date it was given and count the 10 days back from month-end. Recovering possession is a separate step: to evict, the lessor must deliver a 'notice to vacate' allowing 'not less than five days' (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 4701), and for an indeterminate-term lease the termination notice 'shall be considered as a notice to vacate under this Article' |
| What the lease can change | Louisiana's lease articles largely supply default rules, and the parties may agree to different terms. Most notably, a lessee 'may waive the notice requirements of this Article by written waiver contained in the lease,' letting the lessor 'immediately institute eviction proceedings' on termination (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 4701). Absent such agreement, the 10-day termination period and the 5-day notice to vacate govern |
| Just-cause limits | Louisiana has no statewide just-cause law. Article 2727 lets 'the party desiring to terminate' end an indeterminate-term lease by proper notice for any reason or none; no cause need be stated and no relocation payment is required. If the tenant does not leave, the landlord recovers possession by delivering a notice to vacate and then filing an eviction (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 4701 et seq.). A city may add requirements on top of this state floor |
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Requirements one by one
Governing law
Louisiana is the country's only civil-law state, and its rental rules come from
the Civil Code rather than a landlord-tenant act. A month-to-month tenancy is a
"lease with an indeterminate term," which under La. Civ. Code art. 2727
"terminates by notice to that effect given to the other party by the party
desiring to terminate the lease." The timing is in art. 2728 and the form in
art. 2729. One term to know: reconduction — when a fixed-term lease continues
past its end date without a new agreement, it becomes an indeterminate-term lease,
which is how many Louisiana renters end up on a month-to-month footing.
Nonpayment (art. 2704) and the mechanics of eviction are outside this page.
Landlord's and tenant's notice period
Louisiana's clock is short: at least 10 calendar days before the end of the
month, and it is the same for both sides. Article 2728 requires the notice be
given "(2) In a month-to-month lease, ten calendar days before the end of that
month," and art. 2727 lets "the party desiring to terminate the lease" — landlord
or tenant — give it. (A lease measured by a period longer than a month instead
takes 30 days under art. 2728(1).)
When termination takes effect
The tenancy ends at month-end. The 10 days runs "before the end of that
month," and the notice "terminates the lease at the end of the period specified in
the notice, and, if none is specified, at the end of the first period for which
the notice is timely" (art. 2728). Give the notice at least 10 days before the
month ends and the lease ends that month-end; give it later and it takes effect at
the end of the following month.
Form and required contents
For a home, the notice must be in writing: "If the leased thing is an immovable or
is a movable used as residence, the notice of termination shall be in writing"
(art. 2729). An oral notice is allowed only for non-residential leases. The notice
may state a termination date; if it doesn't, the lease ends at the first month-end
for which the notice was timely (art. 2728). A tenant has an extra option — under
art. 2729, timely "surrender of possession to the lessor" itself counts as the
tenant's notice of termination.
How notice must be delivered
The Civil Code does not prescribe a delivery method for the termination notice, so
deliver the written notice in a way that fixes the date it was given, and count
the 10 days back from month-end. Getting the tenant out is a separate step: to
evict, the landlord must deliver a notice to vacate allowing "not less than
five days" (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 4701), and for a month-to-month (indeterminate-
term) lease, the termination notice itself "shall be considered as a notice to
vacate."
Just-cause limits
Louisiana has no statewide just-cause law. Article 2727 lets "the party desiring to
terminate" end an indeterminate-term lease by proper notice for any reason or none
— no stated cause, no relocation payment. If the tenant does not leave, the
landlord recovers possession by delivering a notice to vacate and then filing an
eviction (La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 4701 and following). A city may add
requirements, so check local law for the specific address.
What trips people up
It's 10 days, not 30. Article 2728(2) sets "ten calendar days before the end
of that month" for a month-to-month lease. Bills to lengthen the residential
figure to 30 days have been introduced more than once but were not enacted, so the
current-law number is 10 — much shorter than most states.
The 10 days is measured back from month-end, not forward from the notice. A
notice must land at least 10 days before the month ends (art. 2728); serve it with
nine days left and the lease does not end until the following month-end.
A written notice is required for a home. Oral notice works only for
non-residential leases (art. 2729). For a residence, put it in writing.
Common questions
I rent month-to-month in Louisiana and want to move out. How much notice? At
least 10 calendar days before the end of the month, in writing (arts. 2728(2),
2729). Moving out and surrendering the premises on time can itself count as your
notice (art. 2729).
My landlord gave me only about two weeks' notice — is that legal? In Louisiana,
yes, if it was at least 10 days before month-end and in writing (art. 2728(2)).
The state's clock is short.
Does my landlord need a reason to end my month-to-month lease? No. Louisiana
has no statewide just-cause rule, so a proper 10-day written notice for any reason
is enough under state law — check whether your city adds anything.
Statutes and sources
- La. Civ. Code art. 2727 — termination of a lease with an indeterminate term
(including a reconducted lease) by notice from the party desiring to terminate.
https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=109791 (accessed 2026-07-15) - La. Civ. Code art. 2728 — notice of termination; timing: 10 calendar days before
month-end for a month-to-month lease (2), and the rule fixing the effective end
date.
https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=109792 (accessed 2026-07-15) - La. Civ. Code art. 2729 — notice of termination; form: writing required for a
residence, and a lessee's surrender of possession as notice.
https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=109793 (accessed 2026-07-15) - La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 4701 — termination of lease; notice to vacate (at least
five days), the termination notice doubling as a notice to vacate, and waiver by
written lease provision.
https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=112073 (accessed 2026-07-15)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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