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What is a Lease Notice?
A Lease Notice is a letter that landlords or property managers might send their tenants to:
- Warn of a lease violation or late rent payment
- Tell them their lease won’t be renewed
- Increase the rent
- Evict them
Legally, landlords must give tenants fair warning to resolve a problem or prepare for a change.
Use LawDepot’s Lease Notice template to send a written reminder of tenant obligations. Simply answer a set of questions to modify the template to your needs. Then, print or download it as a PDF.
A Lease Notice is also known as:
- Eviction notice
- Notice of termination of tenancy
- Notice to quit
- Notice to remedy
- Notice of rent review
- Rent increase notice
- Warning notice of rental arrears
- Warning notice of anti-social behaviour
- Warning notice of lease breach
How much notice should landlords give?
Notice periods are set out in the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, and they vary depending on the reason and type of tenancy.
To increase rent, landlords should give at least 28 days’ notice before the new rent takes effect.
To terminate the tenancy, landlords should give more or less notice depending on the length of the lease:
| Lease Duration |
Notice Period |
| < Six months |
90 days |
| Six months > and < One year |
152 days |
| One year < and > Seven years |
180 days |
| Seven years < and > Eight years |
196 days |
| Eight years + |
224 days |
Landlords typically give at least 28 days’ notice to remedy a lease breach, after which they may file a complaint with the Residential Tenancies Board.
LawDepot’s Lease Notice template gives guidelines for notice periods that may apply to your situation based on your answers.
How much notice should tenants give?
A tenant can terminate their lease before its end date as long as they give at least proper notice:
| Lease Duration |
Notice Period |
| < Six months |
28 days |
| > Six months and < One year |
35 days |
| One year < and > Two years |
42 days |
| Two years < and > Four years |
56 days |
| Four years < and > Eight years |
84 days |
| Eight years + |
112 days |
If a tenant breaks their lease early, their landlord may be able to claim some or all of the tenant’s deposit.
How much can a landlord increase the rent?
Landlords cannot charge an amount that’s substantially higher than market rent. You can compare prices in your area to see what’s a fair amount.
In Rent Pressure Zones, increases cannot exceed 2% annually or the rate of inflation (whichever is lower).
What if a tenant refuses to pay a rent increase?
Tenants are responsible for paying their rent on time. If they fail to do so, the landlord may begin the process of terminating their tenancy.
However, if a tenant finds the rent increase to be unreasonable or in violation of the law, they may apply to the Residential Tenancies Board for dispute resolution. Alternately, they can try negotiating with the landlord to find a solution without the involvement of a third party.
How to write a Lease Notice
1. Specify the notice type
State the reason you’re giving notice and elaborate with details.
For example, if sending a rent review notice, state the increased amount and when it takes effect. (If the property is in a rent pressure zone, LawDepot’s Lease Notice Template will remind you of the laws that apply.)
If sending a warning, select the grounds for the notice (e.g., breaching the lease, missing rent, or threatening behaviour) and how/when the tenant should remedy the problem.
If sending a notice of termination, state the day the tenancy will end.
2. Give details about the property and lease agreement
Include the property address and the original signing date of the Lease Agreement. This is important because the length of the tenancy affects the notice period required by law.
3. Include landlord and tenant details
Add the tenant’s name, as well as the name, address, and phone number of the landlord.
4. Create additional clauses as needed
LawDepot’s Lease Notice template gives you space to write a clause unique to your situation. For example, you might want to specify cleaning duties or the returning of security deposits. However, most Lease Notices won’t need an additional clause.
