Notice to Terminate Lease (No-Cause) — Louisiana

NOTICE TO TERMINATE LEASE (NO-CAUSE) — LOUISIANA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Caption / Header
2. Identification of Parties and Premises
3. Lease Identification
4. Statutory Notice Period and Termination Date
5. Demand to Surrender Possession at Termination
6. Effect on Reconduction
7. Move-Out Procedures and Security Deposit
8. Reservation of Rights
9. Tenant Rights / Anti-Retaliation / Anti-Discrimination
10. Federal / Disaster / Servicemember Notices
11. Signature and Service Block
12. Affidavit / Proof of Service
13. Louisiana Practice Notes
14. Sources and References

1. CAPTION / HEADER

NOTICE OF TERMINATION OF LEASE

(Issued Pursuant to LSA-C.C. art. 2728)

Date of Notice: [__/__/____]

Notice Reference No.: [________________________________]

2. IDENTIFICATION OF PARTIES AND PREMISES

3. LEASE IDENTIFICATION

3.1. Lease Type (check applicable):

☐ Month-to-month lease (10-day notice required, La. C.C. art. 2728)

☐ Lease for a fixed term of one year or longer in renewal/reconduction status (30-day notice required, La. C.C. art. 2728)

☐ Week-to-week / longer-than-week / shorter-than-month lease (5-day notice required, La. C.C. art. 2728)

☐ Daily-or-shorter lease (any time before end of period, La. C.C. art. 2728)

☐ Fixed-term lease approaching natural expiration (no termination notice required by art. 2728; this notice serves as a courtesy reminder; the LSA-C.C.P. art. 4701 5-day notice to vacate may be given up to 30 days before expiration)

3.2. Lease Information:

4. STATUTORY NOTICE PERIOD AND TERMINATION DATE

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that, pursuant to LSA-C.C. art. 2728, the Lease identified in Section 3 above is HEREBY TERMINATED effective at the end of the rental period in which the statutory notice expires.

4.1. Statutory notice period applicable: [10] / [30] / [5] / [Other] calendar days (per art. 2728 based on lease type identified in Section 3.1).

4.2. Termination effective date: [__/__/____] (the "Termination Date") — being the last day of the rental period that follows expiration of the statutory notice period.

4.3. Demand to vacate. As of the Termination Date, all rights of occupancy under the Lease shall cease, and Lessee is required to vacate and surrender the Premises in the condition required by the Lease and by LSA-C.C. art. 2683(3).

5. DEMAND TO SURRENDER POSSESSION AT TERMINATION

YOU ARE HEREBY DEMANDED to vacate and deliver possession of the Premises to the Lessor on or before [TERMINATION DATE], free of all occupants and personal property, with all keys, garage openers, and access devices returned to:

[NAME OF LESSOR OR AGENT]

[ADDRESS / OFFICE / DROP LOCATION]

By [TIME, e.g., 12:00 NOON] on the Termination Date.

If you fail to vacate by the Termination Date, Lessor will, after delivering an additional FIVE-DAY NOTICE TO VACATE under LSA-C.C.P. art. 4701, file a Rule for Possession in the appropriate court of competent jurisdiction.

6. EFFECT ON RECONDUCTION

Pursuant to LSA-C.C. arts. 2721 and 2722, this Notice constitutes EXPRESS OPPOSITION by the Lessor to any continued occupancy and to any tacit renewal (reconduction) of the Lease. No conduct by the Lessor — including acceptance of any holdover rent or use-and-occupancy payments — shall be construed as consent to renewal or reconduction unless Lessor expressly waives this Notice in a signed writing.

Any payments tendered by Lessee after the Termination Date will be accepted, if at all, solely as use-and-occupancy and not as rent under any continuing lease.

7. MOVE-OUT PROCEDURES AND SECURITY DEPOSIT

7.1. Walkthrough / Inspection. Lessor offers a pre-move-out joint walkthrough on [__/__/____] at [__:__ AM/PM] to identify any tenant-cause damage. Lessee may, but is not required to, attend.

7.2. Forwarding address. Lessee should provide a forwarding address to Lessor in writing on or before the Termination Date so that Lessor may comply with LSA-R.S. § 9:3251.

7.3. Security deposit. Pursuant to LSA-R.S. § 9:3251, Lessor shall return any portion of the security deposit not reasonably retained for default or unreasonable wear, with an itemized statement of any deductions, within ONE (1) MONTH after termination of the Lease. Wrongful retention exposes Lessor to statutory damages of $300 or twice the amount wrongfully retained, whichever is greater, plus costs and attorney's fees in the court's discretion (LSA-R.S. § 9:3252).

7.4. Condition at surrender. Lessee must surrender the Premises in the condition received, ordinary wear excepted (LSA-C.C. art. 2683(3); art. 2686).

8. RESERVATION OF RIGHTS

8.1. No waiver. Lessor reserves all rights under the Lease and Louisiana law, including the right to pursue damages for breach, costs, and attorney's fees as permitted.

8.2. Self-help disclaimed. Lessor will not engage in any self-help eviction (lockout, utility termination, removal of property without judicial process). If Lessee does not vacate, Lessor will proceed via judicial Rule for Possession.

8.3. Mitigation. Lessor will undertake reasonable efforts to mitigate damages by re-leasing the Premises (LSA-C.C. art. 2002).

9. TENANT RIGHTS / ANTI-RETALIATION / ANTI-DISCRIMINATION

9.1. Anti-retaliation. Louisiana recognizes a defense of "abuse of right" against retaliatory non-renewal where the lessor's motive is to penalize a tenant for asserting legal rights (e.g., reporting code violations, requesting repairs, joining a tenant association, asserting fair-housing claims). New Orleans tenants in good standing on rent are protected from eviction or non-renewal for SIX (6) MONTHS after registering a habitability complaint under the Healthy Homes Ordinance. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits retaliation under 42 U.S.C. § 3617.

9.2. Anti-discrimination. No-cause termination may not be based on race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation/gender identity), familial status, national origin, military status, disability, source of income (where applicable by ordinance), or natural/protective/cultural hairstyle. LSA-R.S. § 51:2606; 42 U.S.C. § 3604.

9.3. Subsidized housing. This Notice DOES NOT apply to leases subject to the federal Section 8 HCV / public housing / LIHTC / project-based subsidy programs, which require "good cause" for termination. See 24 C.F.R. § 247.3 (project-based); 24 C.F.R. § 982.310 (HCV).

9.4. VAWA. The Violence Against Women Act prohibits termination of a lease based on the tenant's status as a survivor of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, in covered housing programs (34 U.S.C. § 12491).

10. FEDERAL / DISASTER / SERVICEMEMBER NOTICES

10.1. SCRA. A servicemember-tenant on PCS orders has the right to TERMINATE a lease early under 50 U.S.C. § 3955 — that right is independent of this Notice.

10.2. Federally declared disaster. Per LSA-C.C.P. art. 4731, in any parish subject to a federally declared disaster, a 30-day abandonment safe harbor and waiver of injunction security applies.

10.3. Healthy Homes (New Orleans). Lessor (if Premises in New Orleans) certifies that the Premises is registered under the Healthy Homes program in compliance with New Orleans Code Chapter 26, with current Minimum Rental Standards verification.

11. SIGNATURE AND SERVICE BLOCK

Date of Notice: [__/__/____]

[________________________________]

[LESSOR / AUTHORIZED AGENT NAME]

Title (if agent): [PROPERTY MANAGER / ATTORNEY / OWNER]

Address: [STREET, CITY, PARISH, LA, ZIP]

Telephone: [NUMBER]

Email: [EMAIL]

If signed by an attorney:

[ATTORNEY NAME], La. Bar Roll No. [####]

[LAW FIRM NAME]

Attorney for Lessor

12. AFFIDAVIT / PROOF OF SERVICE

I, [NAME OF SERVER], declare under the penalties of perjury under the laws of the State of Louisiana that I served the foregoing NOTICE OF TERMINATION OF LEASE on [TENANT NAME] on [__/__/____] at approximately [__:__ AM/PM] by the following method:

☐ Personal delivery to the Lessee at the Premises.

☐ Substituted service on [NAME], a person of suitable age and discretion residing at the Premises.

☐ Tacking and mailing. Posted in a conspicuous place at the Premises AND mailed by first-class U.S. mail.

☐ Certified mail with return receipt (date of receipt or refusal: [__/__/____]).

☐ Other: [DESCRIBE].

[________________________________]

[NAME OF SERVER]

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

[________________________________]

Notary Public, State of Louisiana

Bar/Notary No.: [____]

(Commission Expires: [_______________])

13. LOUISIANA PRACTICE NOTES

• Two different notices. Always remember: LSA-C.C. art. 2728 governs the period for the NOTICE OF TERMINATION (ending the lease); LSA-C.C.P. art. 4701 governs the period for the post-termination NOTICE TO VACATE (5 days, before filing the rule for possession).
• Reconduction. A holdover beyond the periods in arts. 2721–2722 reconducts the lease on the same terms (subject to indefinite term). Lessor must serve the art. 2728 termination notice BEFORE reconduction or be locked into another period. Conservative practice: serve at least 30 days before any anniversary or term-end.
• Computation of time. La. C.C. art. 2728 measures notice in CALENDAR DAYS (not court days). However, LSA-C.C.P. art. 5059 governs court-deadline computation; do NOT confuse the two.
• Strict construction. Defective notice (short period, wrong calendar date, wrong tenant, improper service) is a complete defense. Louisiana appellate courts strictly construe.
• Acceptance of rent. After serving notice, accepting rent for periods beyond the Termination Date may waive the notice. Use a written reservation: "Tendered rent, if any, is accepted as use-and-occupancy without prejudice to this Notice."
• Subsidized programs. No-cause termination is generally prohibited for Section 8 project-based, public housing, LIHTC during compliance period, and HCV after the initial term. See 24 C.F.R. § 982.310 (after the initial term, only for serious or repeated lease violations, or other good cause).
• Fixed-term leases. Where the lease is by its terms set to expire on a specific date, no art. 2728 notice is required to end the lease, but lessor must serve LSA-C.C.P. art. 4701 5-day notice to vacate (which may be given up to 30 days before expiration) before filing the rule.
• Forum. JP Court, City Court, or District Court depending on parish and amount in controversy.

14. SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• LSA-C.C. art. 2728 — Notice of termination; timing — https://codes.findlaw.com/la/civil-code/la-civ-code-tit-ix-art-2728/
• LSA-C.C. arts. 2721–2722 — Reconduction
• LSA-C.C. arts. 2724–2725 — Termination of lease (definite/indefinite term)
• LSA-C.C.P. art. 4701 — Notice to vacate — https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=112073
• LSA-C.C.P. arts. 4731–4735 — Rule for possession — https://legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx?d=112078
• LSA-R.S. § 9:3251 — Lessee's Deposit Act — https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx?d=107468
• LSA-R.S. § 51:2601 et seq. — Louisiana Equal Housing Opportunity Act
• New Orleans Code Chapter 26 — Healthy Homes
• 24 C.F.R. § 247.3 (project-based subsidy good cause); § 982.310 (HCV good cause)
• 50 U.S.C. § 3955 — SCRA early lease termination
• 34 U.S.C. § 12491 — VAWA housing protections
• Mark Moreau, Louisiana Landlord–Tenant Law — https://probonodeskmanual.loyno.edu/louisiana-landlord-tenant-law

Disclaimer: This template is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. An attorney licensed in Louisiana must review and customize this document before use. Verify all citations on legis.la.gov before service.