5-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit (Delaware)

5-DAY NOTICE TO PAY RENT OR QUIT — DELAWARE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Notice Block
2. Identification of Parties and Premises
3. Statement of Rent Owed
4. Demand for Payment Under § 5502
5. Consequences of Failure to Pay
6. Tenant's Rights and Defenses
7. Acceptable Methods of Payment
8. Reservation of Rights
9. Service Information
10. Signature Block
11. Affidavit / Proof of Service
12. Delaware Practice Notes
13. Sources and References

1. NOTICE BLOCK

FIVE (5) DAY NOTICE TO PAY RENT OR QUIT

Pursuant to 25 Del. C. § 5502

Date of Notice: [__/__/____]

To: [TENANT FULL LEGAL NAME(S)], and all other occupants in possession

From: [LANDLORD/AGENT FULL LEGAL NAME]

2. IDENTIFICATION OF PARTIES AND PRESMISES

3. STATEMENT OF RENT OWED

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that as of the date of this notice, you are in default for non-payment of rent due under the rental agreement covering the above-described premises in the following amount:

4. DEMAND FOR PAYMENT UNDER § 5502

DEMAND IS HEREBY MADE that you pay the TOTAL DUE identified above WITHIN FIVE (5) DAYS after the date this notice is given or sent to you, as required by 25 Del. C. § 5502.

Payment must be received by Landlord (or Landlord's agent) on or before [__/__/____] (the "Deadline"), counting at least five (5) calendar days from the date of this notice.

If you tender all rent due on or before the Deadline, the rental agreement shall continue in full force and Landlord will not pursue summary possession on this notice.

5. CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE TO PAY

If you fail to pay the TOTAL DUE on or before the Deadline:

1. The rental agreement shall terminate as provided in 25 Del. C. § 5502(a);
2. Landlord may file a Complaint for Summary Possession against you in the Justice of the Peace Court for the territorial county in which the premises are located, pursuant to 25 Del. C. § 5701 et seq.;
3. Landlord may seek a money judgment for unpaid rent, late charges, court costs, and any other lawful damages;
4. Landlord may participate in the Residential Eviction Diversion Program required by 25 Del. C. § 5702A before trial; and
5. If a Judgment for Possession is entered, you may be removed from the premises by the Constable upon issuance of a writ of possession.

6. TENANT'S RIGHTS AND DEFENSES

You are advised that under Delaware law you have the following rights:

☐ Right to cure: Pay the TOTAL DUE in full on or before the Deadline. Tender of payment in full before suit is filed bars the summary possession action (25 Del. C. § 5502(c)).

☐ Right to assert defenses at the JP Court hearing, including but not limited to:

• Defective notice (e.g., undercount of days, mis-identification of premises, mis-statement of rent due)
• Warranty of habitability / breach of landlord obligations under 25 Del. C. § 5305
• Setoff for security deposit improperly withheld (25 Del. C. § 5514)
• Retaliation within 90 days of a protected complaint (25 Del. C. § 5516)
• Discrimination on the basis of a class protected by the Delaware Fair Housing Act (6 Del. C. § 4601 et seq., including race, color, national origin, religion, creed, sex, marital status, familial status, source of income, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, military status, or housing status) or the federal Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq.)
• Servicemember protections under the SCRA (50 U.S.C. § 3901 et seq.)
• Failure of the landlord to deliver the Rental Code Summary required by 25 Del. C. § 5118 (allowing tenant to plead ignorance of the Code as a defense)
• Improper acceptance of partial payment without written reservation of rights (§ 5502(c))

☐ Right to legal counsel. You may consult a Delaware-licensed attorney. Free or reduced-cost assistance may be available through:

• Delaware Volunteer Legal Services: (302) 478-8680 / dvls.org
• Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. (CLASI): (302) 575-0660 / declasi.org
• Legal Services Corporation of Delaware: (302) 575-0408 / lscd.com

☐ Right to participate in the Eviction Diversion Program under 25 Del. C. § 5702A. Mediation must occur before any JP Court trial. Tenants must engage within 15 days of service of process or risk losing the diversion stay.

7. ACCEPTABLE METHODS OF PAYMENT

Payment may be tendered as follows:

8. RESERVATION OF RIGHTS

Landlord expressly reserves the right to (i) accept any tendered payment with a written reservation of rights without waiving the right to proceed on this notice, (ii) seek any and all remedies available under the rental agreement and Delaware law, (iii) recover unpaid rent, late charges, court costs, and damages in a separate action under 25 Del. C. § 5502(b), and (iv) amend or supplement this notice as permitted by law.

Acceptance of any partial payment is NOT a waiver of Landlord's rights only if Landlord makes a written reservation of rights at the time of acceptance, as required by 25 Del. C. § 5502(c).

9. SERVICE INFORMATION

This notice was served on the Tenant by the following method (check all that apply):

☐ Personal hand delivery to Tenant on [__/__/____] at approximately [____] [a.m./p.m.]

☐ Hand delivery to a person of suitable age and discretion at the rental unit on [__/__/____]

☐ Conspicuous posting at the rental unit on [__/__/____] AND mailing by first-class mail on [__/__/____]

☐ Certified mail, return receipt requested, USPS tracking no. [________________________________], mailed on [__/__/____]

☐ First-class mail on [__/__/____]

10. SIGNATURE BLOCK

Executed this [____] day of [MONTH], 20[____], at [CITY, COUNTY], Delaware.

LANDLORD / AUTHORIZED AGENT:

Signature: [________________________________]

Printed name: [________________________________]

Title (if agent): [________________________________]

Mailing address: [________________________________]

Telephone: [________________________________]

Email: [________________________________]

11. AFFIDAVIT / PROOF OF SERVICE

STATE OF DELAWARE

COUNTY OF [____________________]

I, [AFFIANT NAME], being duly sworn, depose and say:

1. I am over the age of 18 and am competent to testify to the matters stated herein.
2. On [__/__/____] at approximately [____] [a.m./p.m.], I served the foregoing 5-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit on the Tenant by the method indicated in Section 9 above.
3. The notice was directed to the Tenant at the rental unit address: [________________________________].
4. ☐ Attached hereto is the USPS Certified Mail receipt and/or return receipt, OR ☐ I personally observed posting/delivery as described.

Signature of Affiant: [________________________________]

Printed name: [________________________________]

Sworn to and subscribed before me this [____] day of [MONTH], 20[____].

[________________________________]
Notary Public / My commission expires: [__/__/____]

12. DELAWARE PRACTICE NOTES

A. Statutory minimum is 5 days, but count carefully. The 5-day period under § 5502 runs from the date the notice is "given or sent." For mailed service, courts in practice add mailbox-rule days; for posting-and-mailing, count from the later of the two. When in doubt, give 6 or 7 days. Undercounting is one of the most common reasons JP Courts dismiss summary possession actions.

B. Pre-suit demand is mandatory. A § 5502 written notice is a jurisdictional prerequisite to a summary possession action for non-payment. Without proof of proper service, the JP Court will dismiss.

C. Late fees are statutorily capped. 25 Del. C. § 5501(d) caps late fees at 5% of monthly rent; they may not be charged unless rent is more than 5 days late; and a separate 5-day letter is required before the late fee may be assessed if the landlord's office is more than 3 miles from the rental unit and no in-county collection address is designated.

D. Eviction Diversion Program (§ 5702A, eff. 2024). Mandatory participation. Landlords must complete mediation at least 48 hours before trial and file a Landlord's Affidavit of Participation. Failure to engage delays the trial.

E. Manufactured housing carve-out. If the rental relationship concerns a manufactured-home lot or manufactured-home community, the Manufactured Home Owners and Community Owners Act (25 Del. C. ch. 70) applies, NOT chapter 53/55. Different notice rules apply — DO NOT use this template.

F. Wilmington and county anti-discrimination ordinances. The City of Wilmington (Wilm. C. § 35-2 et seq., often referenced as "Section 10A" historically), New Castle County, and Sussex County have local anti-discrimination provisions in addition to state and federal law. Verify any source-of-income or housing-status protections that may overlap.

G. Lead-based paint. For housing built before 1978, federal lead-based paint disclosures (42 U.S.C. § 4852d; 24 C.F.R. Part 35) and Delaware's lead-safe certification requirements (25 Del. C. ch. 54; § 5305(a)(4)) apply. Failure to comply can defeat a possession claim and trigger civil penalties.

H. Self-help is illegal. Lockouts, utility shutoffs, and removal of doors/windows trigger § 5313 — treble damages or 3× per-diem rent, plus costs. Wait for the Constable.

I. Acceptance of partial payment. Accept partial payment ONLY with a written reservation of rights stating that the action will continue. Otherwise, the action is waived under § 5502(c).

J. Filing venue. File in the JP Court that has territorial jurisdiction over the unit (§ 5701). Use Delaware Courts' interactive Complaint by Landlord form.

13. SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• 25 Del. C. § 5502 — Landlord remedies for failure to pay rent: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title25/c055/index.html
• 25 Del. C. § 5501 — Rent; when due; late fees: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title25/c055/index.html
• 25 Del. C. § 5106 — Rental agreement; term and termination: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title25/c051/sc01/index.html
• 25 Del. C. § 5118 — Rental Code Summary: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title25/c051/sc01/index.html
• 25 Del. C. § 5119 — Disclosure: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title25/c051/sc01/index.html
• 25 Del. C. § 5305 — Landlord obligations / warranty of habitability: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title25/c053/index.html
• 25 Del. C. § 5313 — Unlawful ouster or exclusion of tenant: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title25/c053/index.html
• 25 Del. C. § 5514 — Security deposits: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title25/c055/index.html
• 25 Del. C. § 5516 — Retaliatory acts prohibited: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title25/c055/index.html
• 25 Del. C. ch. 57 — Summary Possession (§§ 5701-5717): https://delcode.delaware.gov/title25/c057/index.html
• 25 Del. C. § 5702A — Residential Eviction Diversion Program: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title25/c057/index.html
• 6 Del. C. ch. 46 — Delaware Fair Housing Act: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title6/c046/index.html
• Delaware Justice of the Peace Court — Landlord/Tenant: https://courts.delaware.gov/jpcourt/landlordtenant
• Delaware Courts — Landlord/Tenant Forms: https://courts.delaware.gov/forms/list.aspx?sec=Forms&sub=Landlord/+Tenant
• Delaware Attorney General — Consumer Protection / Landlord-Tenant Code Summary: https://attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/fraud/cpu/landlordtenant/
• Federal Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq.: https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/fair_housing_act_overview
• Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. § 3901 et seq.: https://www.justice.gov/servicemembers/servicemembers-civil-relief-act-scra
• Delaware Volunteer Legal Services: https://www.dvls.org
• Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. (CLASI): https://www.declasi.org
• Legal Services Corporation of Delaware: https://www.lscd.com

END OF NOTICE