Free Nebraska Landlord Forms
Every Nebraska landlord form we publish, organised by the stage of the tenancy it belongs to, each one paired with the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act section and the deadline that triggers it.
Every form linked on this page is free, fillable in your browser, and downloadable as a PDF with no account, no membership and no paywall. Nebraska tenancies run on the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 76-1401 to 76-14,111 — and one of the most useful things to know about it is which of the rules you have read elsewhere are simply not in it.
The short version
- Nonpayment of rent — seven calendar days after written notice of the nonpayment and of the intention to terminate.
- Lease breach — a genuine two-number rule: terminates not less than thirty days after receipt if the breach is not remedied in fourteen.
- Violent or dangerous conduct — five days, no cure, with a domestic-violence exception the landlord must respect.
- Entry — twenty-four hours’ WRITTEN notice, to each individual unit, stating the purpose and a reasonable period for the visit.
- Security deposit — one month’s rent, plus a pet uplift of up to a quarter of a month, returned in fourteen days with no tenant demand required.
- No grace period and no late-fee cap. The words do not appear in the Act at all.
- New in 2025: electronic delivery of notices with tenant consent, and a domestic-violence lock-change duty within twenty-four hours.
Nebraska’s Notice Periods
| Ground | Notice | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Nonpayment of rent | 7 calendar days after written notice of the nonpayment and of the intention to terminate | § 76-1431(2) |
| Lease breach | Terminates on a date not less than thirty days after receipt of the notice if the breach is not remedied in fourteen days | § 76-1431(1) |
| Repeat of substantially the same act within six months | At least fourteen days, no cure right | § 76-1431(1) |
| Violent criminal activity, illegal drug sale, or activity threatening health or safety | 5 days, no cure | § 76-1431(4) |
| Month-to-month | At least 30 days before the periodic rental date, either party | § 76-1437(2) |
| Week-to-week | 7 days | § 76-1437(2) |
Nebraska’s fourteen-then-thirty structure is real, and it is the opposite way round from how people usually write it. Section 76-1431(1) does not give fourteen days to leave. It gives the tenant fourteen days to remedy, and terminates the agreement on a date not less than thirty days after receipt if they do not. A tenant who cures before the stated date prevents termination altogether. So the notice must carry both numbers: what has to be fixed, by when, and the date the tenancy ends if it is not.
The five-day ground is worth reading closely, because it is enumerated rather than general. Section 76-1431(4) covers violent criminal activity on the premises, the illegal sale of a controlled substance, or other activity threatening the health or safety of other tenants, the landlord or their employees — and it lists physical assault or threat of assault; illegal or threatened illegal use of a firearm or other weapon; knowing possession of a controlled substance unless lawfully prescribed; and other activity threatening health or safety or involving threatened, imminent or actual property damage. Our Nebraska eviction notice laws guide sets out each.
The five-day ground has a domestic-violence exception that binds the landlord. Under § 76-1431(5) a landlord may not use it where the conduct was by someone other than the tenant or a household member and the tenant or household member (i) seeks a protective or restraining order, (ii) reports the matter to law enforcement to initiate criminal action, or (iii) for domestic violence, obtains a qualified third-party certification under the federal Violence Against Women Act. It does not shield a perpetrator tenant — and where victim and perpetrator are both parties to the agreement, the landlord may act only against the perpetrator.
Every Nebraska Landlord Form, by Stage of the Tenancy
An alphabetical list is the least useful arrangement, because a landlord arrives knowing what has happened, not what the document is called. The index below is ordered by where you are in the tenancy.
Starting the tenancy
- Nebraska residential lease agreement — the master document, and the only place a late fee can come from, since the Act sets none. Note also that a landlord may not require a tenant to accept electronic delivery of notices as a condition of the agreement.
- Lead-based paint form — required by federal law, not Nebraska law, for any dwelling built before 1978.
- Move-in / move-out condition checklist — the record that makes a fourteen-day itemisation defensible, and the fourteen days run fast.
During the tenancy
- Notice to enter the property — and note that “one day’s notice” understates what § 76-1423(3)(a) now requires. See below.
- Rent increase notice — Nebraska has no rent control; the constraint on a month-to-month tenancy is the thirty-day period.
- Late rent notice — a courtesy reminder, and the natural precursor to the seven-day notice.
When the tenant breaches
- Seven-day notice to pay rent or quit — § 76-1431(2), and it must state the intention to terminate as well as the arrears.
- Notice to cure or quit — the fourteen-day remedy period with a termination date not less than thirty days out.
- Unconditional quit notice — the five-day § 76-1431(4) ground, and the fourteen-day repeat-breach route.
Ending the tenancy without fault
- Notice of non-renewal — at least thirty days before the periodic rental date under § 76-1437(2).
- Tenant notice to vacate — the same period, since the obligation is mutual.
After the tenant moves out
- Security deposit itemisation — the written itemisation § 76-1416(2) requires within fourteen days.
- Security deposit return letter — the covering document, delivered or mailed.
Entry: More Than “One Day’s Notice”
Nebraska’s entry rule was strengthened in 2021 and most summaries have not caught up. Section 76-1423(3)(a) requires twenty-four hours’ WRITTEN notice — and since Laws 2021 LB320 that notice must be provided to each individual unit and must include the intended purpose and a reasonable period during which the landlord anticipates entering. A blanket notice posted in a lobby does not satisfy it, and a notice that gives no purpose and no window does not either.
There are no clock hours — entry must simply be “only at reasonable times”. Notice is excused in an emergency or where it is impracticable. And during any tenant absence exceeding seven days the landlord may enter at times reasonably necessary (§ 76-1432).
The consequence of getting this wrong is at the other end of the Act. Under § 76-1430, unlawful removal or exclusion, or a wilful and wrongful diminution of services by interrupting electric, gas, water or another essential service, lets the tenant recover possession or terminate and in either case recover an amount equal to three months’ periodic rent as liquidated damages, plus a reasonable attorney’s fee. See our Nebraska landlord entry laws guide.
Security Deposits: Fourteen Days, and No Demand Required
| Rule | Value | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Cap | One month’s periodic rent — plus a pet uplift of not more than one-fourth of one month’s rent “when appropriate” | § 76-1416(1) |
| Return | Fourteen days after the DATE OF TERMINATION — the balance and a written itemisation, delivered or mailed | § 76-1416(2) |
| Trigger | No tenant demand and no forwarding address are required. If the tenant gives no address the landlord mails first class to the last known address; undeliverable or unclaimed for a year, it becomes abandoned property payable to the State Treasurer | § 76-1416(2) |
| Penalty | The property or money due, plus court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees. If the failure is wilful and not in good faith, additionally one month’s periodic rent OR two times the deposit, whichever is LESS, as liquidated damages | § 76-1416(3) |
| Interest | Not required — the word does not appear in connection with deposits anywhere in the Act | Verified absence |
Two points matter here. Fourteen days is short, and because no demand and no forwarding address are needed to start the clock, there is nothing to wait for — a landlord who plans to “see whether they write in” has already lost a week. And the wilful-failure penalty is capped by a whichever is less test, which is unusually mild by national standards; the real cost of getting this wrong is the attorney’s fees. See our Nebraska security deposit laws guide.
Grace Periods, Late Fees and the NSF Myth
Nebraska’s Act is silent on late fees and grace periods. The terms “late fee”, “late charge” and “grace period” do not appear anywhere in §§ 76-1401 to 76-1449. There is no cap and no statutory grace period, so the lease governs entirely — which makes the wording of the lease the whole of the protection.
And the widely quoted ten-dollar NSF cap does not exist. The verbatim text of § 76-1414 contains no returned-cheque, NSF or service-charge provision of any kind. The only ten-dollar figure is in the criminal bad-cheque statute § 28-611, which is restitution to an injured party, not a landlord fee ceiling. Do not publish it as one.
See our Nebraska late fee laws guide for how to draft a fee that will hold up when the statute offers no backstop.
Serving Notices, and What Changed in 2025
Section 76-1413 sets the framework. The landlord receives notice at its place of business or the place held out for that purpose, or by electronic means. The tenant receives notice in hand, mailed to the place held out or the last known residence, or by electronic means. Notice is given by “taking steps reasonably calculated to inform… whether or not the other actually comes to know of it”.
There is no add-days-for-mailing rule. Section 76-1413(10) says so in terms: it “does not affect any requirement related to the content or timing of any notice”. Count from the notice, not from the postmark plus a buffer.
| 2025 act | What it did |
|---|---|
| LB185, effective 3 September 2025 | Electronic delivery of notices. Amended § 76-1410 and rewrote § 76-1413. Electronic delivery now equals first-class, registered or certified mail — but it requires the tenant’s affirmative consent, notice of the right to withdraw it, and a hardware and software statement. A landlord may NOT require a tenant to accept electronic delivery as a condition of a rental agreement. If two or more electronic communications return undeliverable in a thirty-day period, all future communications must go by mail. |
| LB80, effective 3 September 2025 | Domestic violence. New §§ 76-1431.02 to 76-1431.04 cover removal of a perpetrator from the rental agreement, exclusion from the premises, and lock changes. The operative duty: where the perpetrator is not a cotenant or occupant and the tenant has a protective order or qualified third-party certification and gives the landlord a copy plus a written request, the landlord shall change the locks WITHIN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS. |
No 2026 amendment touched §§ 76-1401 to 76-1449 — no section carries a Laws 2026 source note.
Court: The Chapter Most Writers Cite Does Not Apply
Nebraska’s general forcible entry and detainer chapter, §§ 25-21,219 to 25-21,235, EXPRESSLY DOES NOT APPLY to premises governed by the URLTA. Writers citing chapter 25 procedure for a residential rental are citing the wrong chapter. Residential evictions run under § 76-1441 and following, in the district or county court — in practice, county court.
The timetable is set by § 76-1446: trial not less than ten nor more than fourteen days after the summons issues, tried without a jury; on judgment the court declares forfeiture and, on request, issues a writ of restitution restoring possession not more than ten days after issuance.
The small claims limit rose to seven thousand five hundred dollars on 1 July 2025, having been six thousand from July 2024 (§ 25-2802(4), Laws 2024 LB139). Whether small claims may hear an eviction at all is a question we could not resolve from a primary source, so we do not answer it here.
Abandonment and the Duty to Re-Let
Section 76-1432(3) defines abandonment as a total absence without notice for one full rental period or thirty days, whichever is less — and it is not permissive about what happens next. The landlord “shall take immediate possession and shall make reasonable efforts to rent it at a fair rental”. A Nebraska landlord who lets an abandoned unit sit is not preserving a claim; they are weakening one. See our Nebraska breaking lease laws guide.
Wilful holdover runs the other way: § 76-1437(3) gives the landlord not more than three months’ periodic rent or threefold actual damages, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney’s fees.
Which Nebraska Form Do I Need?
- The tenant has not paid rent. Seven-day notice, stating both the nonpayment and the intention to terminate.
- A lease term has been broken. Fourteen days to remedy, with a termination date not less than thirty days after receipt.
- The same breach has recurred within six months. Fourteen days, no cure right.
- There is violence, a weapon, drugs or a threat to health and safety. Five days, no cure — but check the domestic-violence exception first.
- Nobody is at fault and you want the tenancy to end. Thirty days before the periodic rental date; seven days week-to-week.
- You need to get into the property. Twenty-four hours in writing, to that unit, with the purpose and a reasonable window.
- The tenant has moved out. Itemisation plus the balance within fourteen days of termination — do not wait for a demand.
- The tenant has vanished. Check the abandonment definition, then take possession and re-let.
How to Fill Out a Nebraska Fourteen-Day Cure Notice
- Name every tenant and describe the premises as the agreement does.
- State the breach specifically — what was done or not done, and when.
- State what would remedy it, and give fourteen days from receipt to do so.
- State the termination date separately, and make it not less than thirty days after receipt. Both numbers belong on the page.
- Say plainly that remedy prevents termination. That is what the statute provides, and saying so closes off a defence.
- Serve it in hand, by mail to the place held out or the last known residence, or electronically only if the tenant has affirmatively consented under the 2025 rules.
- Do not add days for mailing. Section 76-1413(10) rules it out.
- Diarise the trial window — ten to fourteen days after the summons issues.
What Happens If the Form Is Wrong
The distinctively Nebraska failure is collapsing the two-number cure notice into one. A notice giving fourteen days to vacate misstates the statute in the tenant’s favour on the deadline and in the landlord’s favour on the remedy right — and it invites an argument about which the tenant was entitled to rely on.
The second is the seven-day rent notice that states only the arrears. Section 76-1431(2) requires written notice of the nonpayment and of the intention to terminate.
The third is an entry notice that is oral, or generic, or unit-blind. Since 2021 it must be written, per unit, with a purpose and a window.
And the fourth is missing the fourteen-day deposit deadline while waiting for a forwarding address that the statute never asked for.
What This Page Does Not Have
We would rather scope this honestly than promise documents we do not host. Nebraska landlords also commonly want a rental application, a sublease, a roommate agreement, a commercial lease, a lease-to-own agreement and a rent receipt. Those are not published here as Nebraska-specific forms.
We also publish no Nebraska court form number and no filing fee. The Judicial Branch’s own landlord self-help page states verbatim that “Court forms are not currently available for this category.” A praecipe form number surfaced as a search-result title but the underlying document would not parse, and a second number came from an unverified secondary source. On fees, the official schedule effective 1 July 2026 has no separate line item for a forcible entry and detainer; county court civil totals run roughly sixty-two to eighty-two dollars and small claims about fifty-eight. The widely cited “fifty dollar Nebraska eviction filing fee” is not in the official schedule. Ask the clerk.
Common Nebraska Landlord Form Mistakes
- Writing the cure notice as a single fourteen-day period. It is fourteen to remedy, thirty to terminate.
- Omitting the intention to terminate from the seven-day rent notice.
- Giving an oral or generic entry notice. Written, per unit, with purpose and a window.
- Waiting for a forwarding address before returning the deposit.
- Taking more than a month’s rent plus a quarter-month pet deposit.
- Paying deposit interest you do not owe, or promising it in the lease.
- Charging a ten-dollar NSF fee “under the Act”. No such provision exists.
- Assuming a statutory grace period. There is none.
- Sending notices electronically without consent. Since September 2025 that consent must be affirmative, and cannot be a condition of the lease.
- Ignoring a lock-change request backed by a protective order. The duty runs in twenty-four hours.
- Using the five-day ground against a domestic-violence victim. Section 76-1431(5) forbids it.
- Citing chapter 25 procedure. It expressly does not apply to URLTA premises.
- Letting an abandoned unit sit. The duty to re-let is mandatory.
Free Fillable Forms Versus the Paid Nebraska Form Sites
Nebraska has one of the weakest results pages we have measured. The official judicial page runs to under two hundred words, the state’s own resources are link directories, and the top commercial result is a paid catalogue behind a membership. The deepest page that is genuinely both a form index and a real Nebraska law reference runs to about two thousand eight hundred and forty words.
There is no authoritative free Nebraska landlord-forms hub at all. That is the gap this page fills — twelve fillable documents paired with the sections that actually govern them, including the three rules above that are commonly published wrong.
Every form linked from this page is free, fills in the browser, and downloads as a finished PDF. There is no account, no trial and no upsell attached to the documents themselves. What we ask in return is straightforward: if you are about to hand keys to someone, run the screening first, because nearly every dispute described on this page is cheaper to prevent than to litigate.
Nebraska Landlord Forms: FAQ
How many days is a Nebraska notice to pay rent or quit?
Seven calendar days under § 76-1431(2), after written notice of the nonpayment and of the intention to terminate. A notice that states only the arrears does not meet the section.
Is the Nebraska cure period fourteen days or thirty?
Both, and they do different jobs. Section 76-1431(1) terminates the agreement on a date not less than thirty days after receipt of the notice if the breach is not remedied in fourteen days. The tenant has fourteen days to fix it; the tenancy ends no sooner than thirty. Cure before the stated date prevents termination.
What is Nebraska’s five-day eviction ground?
Section 76-1431(4) allows five days with no cure right for violent criminal activity on the premises, the illegal sale of a controlled substance, or other activity threatening the health or safety of other tenants, the landlord or their employees — including physical assault or threat, illegal or threatened illegal use of a firearm or other weapon, and knowing possession of a controlled substance unless lawfully prescribed.
Can a Nebraska landlord use the five-day ground against a domestic-violence victim?
No. Under § 76-1431(5), where the conduct was by someone other than the tenant or a household member, the landlord may not use the ground if the tenant or household member seeks a protective or restraining order, reports the matter to law enforcement to initiate criminal action, or obtains a qualified third-party certification under the federal Violence Against Women Act. Where victim and perpetrator are both parties, the landlord may act only against the perpetrator.
How much notice must a Nebraska landlord give before entering?
Twenty-four hours’ written notice under § 76-1423(3)(a) — and since 2021 the notice must be provided to each individual unit and must include the intended purpose and a reasonable period during which the landlord anticipates entering. There are no clock hours, only “reasonable times”. Notice is excused in an emergency or where it is impracticable.
What is the security deposit cap in Nebraska?
One month’s periodic rent under § 76-1416(1), plus a pet deposit of not more than one-fourth of one month’s rent where appropriate.
How long does a Nebraska landlord have to return a deposit?
Fourteen days after the date of termination — the balance together with a written itemisation, delivered or mailed, § 76-1416(2). No tenant demand and no forwarding address are required to start the clock. If the tenant leaves no address the landlord mails first class to the last known address; unclaimed for a year, the money is abandoned property payable to the State Treasurer.
What is the penalty for wrongly withholding a Nebraska deposit?
The property or money due, plus court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees. If the failure was wilful and not in good faith, the landlord additionally owes one month’s periodic rent or two times the deposit, whichever is LESS, as liquidated damages, § 76-1416(3).
Does Nebraska cap late fees or require a grace period?
No to both. The terms “late fee”, “late charge” and “grace period” do not appear anywhere in §§ 76-1401 to 76-1449. The lease governs entirely. Separately, the frequently quoted ten dollar NSF cap does not exist — § 76-1414 contains no returned-cheque provision at all, and the ten-dollar figure belongs to the criminal bad-cheque statute § 28-611.
Can a Nebraska landlord serve notices by email or text?
Since 3 September 2025, yes — electronic delivery equals first-class, registered or certified mail. But it requires the tenant’s affirmative consent, notice of the right to withdraw it and a hardware and software statement, and a landlord may not require a tenant to accept electronic delivery as a condition of a rental agreement. If two or more electronic communications return undeliverable within thirty days, all future communications must go by mail.
Must a Nebraska landlord change the locks after domestic violence?
Yes, in defined circumstances. Under § 76-1431.03, added in 2025, where the perpetrator is not a cotenant or occupant and the tenant has a protective order or qualified third-party certification and gives the landlord a copy plus a written request, the landlord shall change the locks within twenty-four hours.
Which court hears a Nebraska eviction?
The district or county court under § 76-1441 — in practice, county court. Note that the general forcible entry and detainer chapter, §§ 25-21,219 to 25-21,235, expressly does not apply to premises governed by the URLTA. Trial is set not less than ten nor more than fourteen days after the summons issues, and a writ of restitution restores possession not more than ten days after issuance.
Related Nebraska Guides
- Nebraska landlord-tenant laws — the full statutory overview.
- Nebraska eviction notice laws — every ground and its period.
- Nebraska security deposit laws — the fourteen-day clock in detail.
- Nebraska lease termination laws — thirty days, both ways.
- Nebraska breaking lease laws — abandonment and the duty to re-let.
- Nebraska rent increase laws — why Nebraska has no rent control.
- Nebraska late fee laws — drafting a fee the statute does not define.
- Nebraska landlord entry laws — the 2021 written-notice change.
- Nebraska habitability laws — essential services and the three-month remedy.
- Nebraska pet and ESA laws — the quarter-month pet deposit and assistance animals.
- Nebraska tenant screening laws — background checks and adverse action.
Published by Tenant Screening Background Check · Editorial Team
Established 2004. Our editorial team has spent two decades helping landlords and property managers run lawful tenant screening and follow state landlord-tenant codes across all fifty states. For this page we read §§ 76-1401 to 76-1449 on the Nebraska Legislature’s own site, with its source and amendment notes — which is how we can say the ten-dollar NSF cap everyone publishes is not in the Act, and that the general eviction chapter people cite does not apply to residential rentals at all.
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Last reviewed 2026. This page is general information about Nebraska landlord-tenant law, not legal advice. Two acts took effect on 3 September 2025 and the entry rule was strengthened in 2021, so older guidance is out of date. We have deliberately omitted court form numbers and a filing fee we could not verify from an official source. Confirm the current requirements with the clerk of your county court or with a Nebraska attorney before you serve a notice or file a case.
