Tennessee 30-Day / 10-Day No-Cause Notice to Terminate Periodic Tenancy

TENNESSEE NOTICE TO TERMINATE PERIODIC TENANCY (NO CAUSE)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Header and Recipient Block
2. Statutory Predicate and Notice Variant
3. Identification of Premises and Tenancy
4. Notice of Termination
5. Computation of Termination Date
6. Move-Out Instructions
7. Security Deposit Disposition
8. Holdover Consequences
9. Tenant Rights Reservation
10. Service Information
11. Landlord Signature Block
12. Certificate of Service
13. Tennessee Practice Notes
14. Sources and References

1. HEADER AND RECIPIENT BLOCK

STATE OF TENNESSEE

[COUNTY NAME] COUNTY

NOTICE TO TERMINATE PERIODIC TENANCY (NO CAUSE)

2. STATUTORY PREDICATE AND NOTICE VARIANT

Check ONE:

☐ Variant A — URLTA Month-to-Month: 30-Day Notice. T.C.A. § 66-28-512(b). The Premises are in a URLTA county (population > 75,000). The tenancy is month-to-month. Termination requires written notice given at least thirty (30) days prior to the periodic rental date specified in the notice.

☐ Variant B — URLTA Week-to-Week: 10-Day Notice. T.C.A. § 66-28-512(a). The Premises are in a URLTA county. The tenancy is week-to-week. Termination requires written notice given at least ten (10) days prior to the periodic rental date specified in the notice.

☐ Variant C — Non-URLTA Periodic Tenancy: 30-Day Notice. T.C.A. § 66-7-109. The Premises are NOT in a URLTA county.

☐ Variant D — Non-Renewal of Fixed-Term Lease. This is notice that Landlord will not renew the Lease that expires by its own terms on [__/__/____], and that holdover after the termination date will subject Tenant to the consequences described in Section 8.

3. IDENTIFICATION OF PREMISES AND TENANCY

3.1. Premises. [FULL ADDRESS, UNIT, CITY, COUNTY, TN ZIP] (the "Premises").

3.2. Lease. ☐ Written rental agreement dated [__/__/____] ☐ Oral / implied rental agreement.

3.3. Tenancy Type. ☐ Month-to-month ☐ Week-to-week ☐ Fixed term ending [__/__/____] ☐ Other: [________].

3.4. Periodic Rental Date. Rent is due on the [__] day of each [month / week].

3.5. Current Monthly Rent. $[________].

3.6. Federally Subsidized? ☐ No ☐ Yes — DO NOT USE THIS NOTICE; subsidized tenancies require good-cause termination.

4. NOTICE OF TERMINATION

TO THE TENANT(S) AND ALL OTHER OCCUPANTS:

Pursuant to [T.C.A. § 66-28-512(b) / § 66-28-512(a) / § 66-7-109], you are hereby given written notice that the periodic tenancy described above is TERMINATED effective [TERMINATION DATE — __/__/____] (the "Termination Date").

You are required to vacate and deliver up the Premises to Landlord on or before the Termination Date, including all keys, garage-door openers, mail keys, parking permits, and access devices.

This Notice does not waive any rent, charges, damages, or other obligations accrued through the Termination Date.

5. COMPUTATION OF TERMINATION DATE

5.1. Date of this Notice: [__/__/____].

5.2. Date of Tenant's Receipt (anticipated): [__/__/____].

5.3. Statutory Notice Period: [30 days / 10 days].

5.4. Next Periodic Rental Date Falling After Notice Period: [__/__/____].

5.5. Termination Date (Day Before Next Periodic Rental Date): [__/__/____].

6. MOVE-OUT INSTRUCTIONS

6.1. Final Inspection. Landlord requests a joint walk-through inspection on [__/__/____] at [TIME] [AM/PM].

6.2. Forwarding Address. Provide Landlord with a written forwarding address for security-deposit accounting and final notices: [________________________________].

6.3. Surrender of Keys. Return all keys and access devices to [ADDRESS] by [TIME] [AM/PM] on the Termination Date.

6.4. Personal Property. Remove all personal property from the Premises before the Termination Date. Property left behind may be treated as abandoned subject to T.C.A. § 66-28-405 (URLTA) or applicable common-law / lease provisions.

6.5. Utility Accounts. Place all utility accounts in your name out of service effective on the Termination Date.

7. SECURITY DEPOSIT DISPOSITION

If you provide a written forwarding address, Landlord will comply with T.C.A. § 66-28-301:

7.1. Itemized List. Within a reasonable time after surrender, Landlord will provide an itemized list of damages, if any, and the estimated cost of repairs.

7.2. Tenant Inspection. You have the right to inspect the Premises with Landlord to ascertain the accuracy of the list.

7.3. Refund. Landlord will refund any portion of the deposit due, less itemized deductions, in accordance with T.C.A. § 66-28-301.

7.4. Failure to Claim. If Tenant fails to respond to a deposit-accounting notice within sixty (60) days under T.C.A. § 66-28-301(g), Landlord may retain the deposit free of further claim.

8. HOLDOVER CONSEQUENCES

If you remain in possession after the Termination Date without Landlord's written consent:

8.1. Wrongful Holdover Damages. T.C.A. § 66-28-512(c) authorizes Landlord to recover an amount not more than one and one-half (1½) times the monthly rent for the wrongful holdover period.

8.2. Detainer Warrant. Landlord will commence a detainer warrant action in the General Sessions Court of [COUNTY] County, Tennessee, under T.C.A. § 29-18-101 et seq.

8.3. Possession. Landlord will seek a writ of possession and attorney's fees and costs (where authorized).

8.4. Self-Help Prohibited. Notwithstanding holdover, Landlord may not change locks, remove doors, or shut off utilities. T.C.A. § 66-28-504.

9. TENANT RIGHTS RESERVATION

This Notice does not waive or limit Tenant's rights:

• The right to be free from retaliatory termination under T.C.A. § 66-28-514. A no-cause termination delivered shortly after a tenant has filed a habitability complaint, contacted code enforcement, joined a tenant association, or exercised any URLTA right is presumptively retaliatory.
• The right to be free from discrimination under the Tennessee Human Rights Act, T.C.A. § 4-21-601 et seq., and the federal Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq.
• The right to security-deposit accounting under T.C.A. § 66-28-301.
• The right to a hearing in General Sessions Court before any writ of possession may issue.

10. SERVICE INFORMATION

This Notice is being served on Tenant by:

☐ Personal delivery on [__/__/____]
☐ Delivery to person of suitable age at the Premises (Name: [________]) on [__/__/____]
☐ Posting on door AND U.S. certified mail, return receipt requested, on [__/__/____]
☐ Other: [________________________________]

11. LANDLORD SIGNATURE BLOCK

Executed this [__] day of [MONTH], 2026.

By: [________________________________]

Print Name: [________________________________]

Title: [Owner / Property Manager / Authorized Agent]

Address: [________________________________]

Phone / Email: [________________________________]

12. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I, [NAME OF SERVER], certify that on [__/__/____] I served the foregoing Notice upon Tenant by the method(s) checked in Section 10. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of Tennessee that the foregoing is true and correct.

Signature: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

13. TENNESSEE PRACTICE NOTES

13.1. No-Cause Termination Is Permitted in Tennessee. Unlike states such as New Jersey, Oregon, California, Washington, and the District of Columbia, Tennessee URLTA permits no-cause termination of periodic tenancies. There is no "just cause for eviction" statute statewide.

13.2. Local Ordinances. Some Tennessee municipalities (notably Nashville-Davidson County under proposed Metro Council action) have considered tenant-protection ordinances; verify current local law. State-law preemption of local rent-control measures is established by T.C.A. § 66-35-102.

13.3. Periodic Rental Date Calculation. T.C.A. § 66-28-512(b) requires notice "given to the other at least thirty (30) days prior to the periodic rental date specified in the notice." A common error: serving notice on the 15th of the month and demanding vacate on the 14th of the following month — only 30 days, but it does not coincide with a periodic rental date. Always pick the END of the periodic rental period.

13.4. Retaliation Presumption Window. Although T.C.A. § 66-28-514 does not specify a fixed window, Tennessee Court of Appeals decisions (e.g., reasoning analogous to FHA retaliation analysis) and persuasive federal authority recognize a roughly one-year window during which retaliatory motive is suspect. Landlords should document business reasons (sale of property, owner-occupancy, market repositioning) contemporaneously.

13.5. HUD / Section 8 Tenancies. Federal good-cause-for-termination rules apply to public housing (24 C.F.R. § 966.4(l)), HCV (24 C.F.R. § 982.310), project-based Section 8 (24 C.F.R. § 247), and RD/USDA. Use the federally compliant notice form, not this template.

13.6. Mobile Home Park Tenancies — § 66-28-201. Park-tenant terminations require additional rule-compliance specifics under federal and state mobile-home statutes.

13.7. Memphis / Nashville Practice. Metro Nashville's L.E.G.A.C.Y. Housing Resource Diversionary Court (Davidson County General Sessions Division VIII) diverts no-cause cases to mediation when habitability defenses are raised. Memphis Area Legal Services screens for habitability counterclaims.

13.8. Local Rules. Davidson, Shelby, Knox, and Hamilton counties each maintain local rules for General Sessions Court detainer dockets; review before filing.

14. SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• T.C.A. § 66-28-512: https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-66/chapter-28/part-5/section-66-28-512/
• T.C.A. § 66-28-514 (Retaliation): https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-66/chapter-28/part-5/section-66-28-514/
• T.C.A. § 66-28-301 (Security deposits): https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-66/chapter-28/part-3/section-66-28-301/
• T.C.A. § 66-7-109: https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-66/chapter-7/section-66-7-109/
• T.C.A. § 29-18-101 et seq.: https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-29/chapter-18/
• Painebickers MJK URLTA Memo: https://www.painebickers.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/MJK-2018-URLTA-Memo-on-Tennessee-Eviction-Procedures-and-Sample-Notices.pdf
• Help4TN URLTA: https://www.help4tn.org/senior-services/legal-information/long-term-care-housing/urlta-renters
• Tennessee Human Rights Commission Housing: https://www.tn.gov/humanrights/file-a-discrimination-complaint/housing.html
• Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee: https://las.org/
• Memphis Area Legal Services: https://malsi.org/