A Louisiana Tenant Notice to Vacate is the written notice, due at or before ten calendar days before the end of the month, a tenant gives a landlord to end a periodic tenancy under Louisiana Civil Code Article 2728. It identifies the rental unit, sets the last day of tenancy, provides a forwarding address for the security deposit, and creates the documentary record that protects you if the move-out is later disputed. The form on this page handles the statutory content automatically — you fill in the blanks, the PDF generates a clean, signature-ready notice, and you deliver it to your landlord.

In Louisiana, a tenant ends a month-to-month lease by notice given at or before ten calendar days before the end of the month, and the lease then ends at the end of that month (La. Civ. Code art. 2728(2)). If the term is measured by a period longer than a month, the deadline is thirty calendar days before the period ends; for a period of a week or more but under a month, five calendar days (art. 2728(1), (3)). For a residence the notice must be in writing (art. 2729).

What this form does and when to use it

The Louisiana Tenant Notice to Vacate is a written notice from the tenant to the landlord ending a periodic (typically month-to-month) tenancy under Louisiana Civil Code Article 2728. It serves three purposes at once: it gives the landlord the art. 2728 notice — for a month-to-month tenancy, delivered at or before ten calendar days before the end of the month — it specifies the last day of tenancy so rent obligations stop on a defined date, and it provides the forwarding address La. R.S. 9:3251 directs the tenant to furnish, to which the landlord sends the deposit and any itemized statement within one month after the lease terminates. Without a properly written and delivered notice, a tenant who simply moves out remains exposed to claims for additional rent and may have a harder time recovering the security deposit.

Use this notice when you have a periodic tenancy — month-to-month is the most common form, but the same rule applies to week-to-week or other periodic arrangements (with a corresponding shorter notice period for terms shorter than a month). The 10 days notice applies regardless of how long you have lived in the unit. Many states impose longer notice obligations on landlords than on tenants — those longer landlord rules do not flow back to tenants. As a tenant on a periodic tenancy in Louisiana, you give notice by the deadline in La. Civ. Code art. 2728 for your rental period — ten calendar days before the end of the month for month-to-month, thirty days for a period longer than a month, five days for a week or more.

This is not the right form for a fixed-term lease. If you have a lease with a defined end date and you intend to leave at the natural end of the term, the lease itself sets the end date — although it is good practice to send a written notice anyway to confirm your intent and give the landlord your forwarding address. If you want to leave a fixed-term lease early, the 10 days notice does not apply: you need either a lease provision authorizing early termination, the landlord’s written agreement to release you, or a statutory ground (uninhabitable conditions, domestic violence early termination, or military deployment under federal SCRA at 50 U.S.C. § 3955). Sending a art. 2728 notice on a fixed-term lease without one of those grounds typically does not end your rent liability under Louisiana law.

Related Resources

• Louisiana lease termination laws
• Louisiana eviction notice laws
• Louisiana breaking lease laws
• Louisiana landlord tenant laws
• Louisiana habitability laws
• Lease termination laws by state

Louisiana statute and legal authority

The tenant’s right to terminate a periodic tenancy in Louisiana is set out in Louisiana Civil Code Article 2728. The statute generally provides that a periodic tenancy is renewed at the end of each rental period unless one of the parties gives written notice to the other of an intention to terminate. For a month-to-month tenancy, art. 2728(2) requires the notice to be given at or before ten calendar days before the end of that month. Read that carefully, because it is the single most misreported rule in Louisiana move-out practice: art. 2728 is a deadline counted back from the end of the rental period, not a ten-day clock that starts running when you hand over the notice. The article’s closing paragraph supplies the consequence — a timely notice “terminates the lease at the end of the period specified in the notice, and, if none is specified, at the end of the first period for which the notice is timely.” So notice delivered on 3 April ends a month-to-month tenancy on 30 April; notice delivered on 25 April is too late for April and ends it on 31 May instead. The article sets four periods, not one: thirty calendar days where the term is longer than a month, ten calendar days for month-to-month, five calendar days where the term is a week or more but shorter than a month, and any time before expiration where the term is shorter than a week.

La. Civ. Code art. 2729 requires the notice to be in writing where the leased thing is an immovable or a movable used as a residence; under art. 2728, a notice that specifies no date terminates the lease at the end of the first period for which it is timely. Beyond those minimums, courts generally hold that the writing must be clear enough that a reasonable landlord understands the tenant intends to end the tenancy on a definite date. Ambiguous statements (“I’m thinking about moving”) or conditional statements (“I’ll move if I find a place”) do not satisfy the statute. The form on this page produces unambiguous statutory language.

La. R.S. 9:3251 governs what happens to the security deposit after the tenancy ends, and it is shorter and blunter than most states’ deposit statutes. The landlord has one month after the lease terminates — a calendar month, not a fixed thirty-day count, so a February termination has fewer days to run than a July one — to return the deposit, and if any portion is retained, to forward an itemized statement accounting for the proceeds retained and giving the reasons therefor within one month after the tenancy terminates or within fifteen days after the date that is one month after it terminates (R.S. 9:3251(A), as amended by Acts 2026, No. 63). Louisiana does not enumerate four permitted deduction categories the way several common-law states do. Section 9:3251(A) allows the lessor to retain only what is “reasonably necessary to remedy a default of the tenant or to remedy unreasonable wear to the premises” — two grounds, not four, and both are measured by reasonable necessity rather than by category. The statute directs the tenant to furnish the lessor a forwarding address at the termination of the lease, to which such statements may be sent; the form on this page builds that in. Two Louisiana-specific limits are worth knowing: 9:3251(C) provides that subsection A does not apply where the tenant abandons the premises without giving the required notice or before the lease terminates, and 9:3254 makes any waiver of a tenant’s rights under this Part null and void.

Louisiana has no general landlord-retaliation statute. This is a real gap and most guidance written for other states glosses over it. There is no Louisiana equivalent of the retaliation provisions found in the states that adopted the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act — Louisiana never adopted URLTA, and its lease law sits in the Civil Code. A tenant who believes a landlord acted punitively is therefore arguing from the lease, from the lessor’s Civil Code obligations, and from federal Fair Housing law where a protected characteristic is involved, not from a retaliation statute. What Louisiana does give you on the deposit is concrete and worth more than a vague retaliation theory: under La. R.S. 9:3252(A), a willful failure to comply with 9:3251 lets the tenant recover the portion of the deposit wrongfully retained plus three hundred dollars or twice the amount wrongfully retained, whichever is greater. The statute supplies its own definition of willfulness: “Failure to remit within thirty days after written demand for a refund shall constitute willful failure.” That is why a dated written demand is a tenant’s single highest-value move. Under 9:3253 the court may, in its discretion, award costs and attorney fees to the prevailing party — note that this runs to the prevailing party either way, not automatically to the tenant. Suit may be brought in the parish of the lessor’s domicile or where the property is situated.

Step-by-step: writing your notice to vacate

Follow these steps in order. Each one corresponds to a required field on the form below.

Step 1: Confirm your tenancy is periodic, not fixed-term

Pull out your lease. If it has no end date, or it expired and you simply continued paying month-to-month, you have a periodic tenancy and La. Civ. Code art. 2728 applies — give notice using this form at or before ten calendar days before the end of the rental month. If your lease has a defined end date and is still within the term, this notice is not the right tool unless you have a separate ground for early termination.

Step 2: Choose your last day of tenancy

Under art. 2728 the last day of a month-to-month tenancy is the end of a rental month, not a date ten days after you hand over the notice. Work backwards: if you can get the notice to the landlord at or before ten calendar days before the current month ends, the tenancy ends at the end of this month; if not, it ends at the end of the next one. Art. 2728 does not authorise mid-period termination with pro-rated rent — its closing paragraph terminates the lease “at the end of the period specified in the notice, and, if none is specified, at the end of the first period for which the notice is timely.” Use the calculator below to compute the exact date, and always check your lease, which may set a longer period.

Step 3: List every named tenant

Include every adult tenant who signed the lease. Each tenant has an independent obligation under the lease, and a notice on behalf of one cotenant does not necessarily end the tenancy for others. If only one of two cotenants intends to leave and the other plans to stay, that is a partial-tenancy issue that this form is not designed for — discuss it with the landlord and consider a written modification of the lease.

Step 4: State the rental address with full precision

Use the address as it appears on the lease, including unit or apartment number, building number, city, and ZIP. Imprecise addresses cause more disputes than people expect, especially in multi-unit buildings.

Step 5: Identify the landlord or property manager

The notice should be addressed to whoever holds the landlord role for purposes of the tenancy — typically the entity named in the lease or the property manager identified on rent-payment instructions. If the lease names a different person from the property manager, address the notice to both to avoid any argument that the wrong party received it.

Step 6: Provide a forwarding address

This is the address where the landlord will mail your security deposit and any itemization. La. R.S. 9:3251(A) closes with a direct instruction to the tenant: “The tenant shall furnish the lessor a forwarding address at the termination of the lease, to which such statements may be sent.” The statute does not say what happens if you fail to — it does not, contrary to widely repeated guidance, expressly authorise mailing to your last known address — but a tenant who gives no forwarding address has no good answer when the lessor says the statement was sent where it had an address. Give one in writing. It does not change the one-month deadline, which runs from termination of the lease either way; it changes whether the statement reaches you.

Step 7: Ask for a pre-move-out walkthrough

Even where state law does not require it, ask the landlord for a pre-move-out walkthrough. The landlord walks through the unit, identifies any deficiencies that would otherwise be deducted from the deposit, and gives you a chance to fix them before move-out. This optional step often pays for itself many times over in deposit recovery. The form below includes a checkbox to put the request in writing.

Step 8: Sign and date

The notice must be signed and dated by the tenant. If there are cotenants, every cotenant who is ending the tenancy should sign. The art. 2728 deadline is measured by when the notice is given to the landlord, not by the date you sign it.

Required information that makes the notice valid

La. Civ. Code art. 2728 sets a low statutory bar: written notice, given the required number of days in advance, stating the tenant’s intent to terminate. The form on this page goes well beyond the minimum because the bigger risk to a tenant is not technical invalidity — it is the move-out dispute (deductions, deposit return delays, claims for additional rent). Each element below addresses a real-world dispute pattern.

Element	Why it matters
Tenant name(s)	Establishes which tenants are giving notice. If there are cotenants and only some are leaving, the notice should be clear about who is and is not part of the termination.
Rental property address with unit	Identifies the specific tenancy being ended. Imprecise addresses cause more disputes than people expect, especially in multi-unit buildings.
Date of notice	Fixes the date of delivery, which is what art. 2728 measures against the ten-day-before-month-end deadline. Aligns with the proof of delivery.
Last day of tenancy	The defined date the tenancy ends — under art. 2728 the end of a rental month. This is the rent-stop date, and termination of the lease starts the one-month deposit clock under La. R.S. 9:3251.
Forwarding address	La. R.S. 9:3251(A) directs the tenant to furnish one at the termination of the lease, to which the itemized statement may be sent. Give it in writing or you may never see the statement.
Pre-move-out walkthrough request (optional)	Asks the landlord to do a pre-move-out walkthrough and tell you what would be deducted from the deposit. One of the highest-leverage moves for deposit recovery, even where not required by statute.
Tenant signature(s) and date	Authenticates the notice as actually given by the tenant on the date stated.
Landlord/property manager name and address	Clarifies who is being noticed. If the lease names a different person from the property manager, address both to avoid argument.

How to deliver the notice to your landlord

La. Civ. Code art. 2729 requires the notice to be in writing but does not specify a delivery method. That makes proof of delivery the practical requirement: if the landlord later denies receiving notice, the tenant who has documentary proof prevails. The methods below are listed in order of evidentiary strength.

Move-out timeline and key dates

The full move-out arc — from notice through deposit return — is structured by two clocks that run in opposite directions: the art. 2728 notice deadline, counted back from the end of the rental month, and the one-month deposit clock under La. R.S. 9:3251, counted forward from termination of the lease. Here is the typical sequence.

The clean version of this timeline plays out in roughly one to two months from notice to deposit return. The version that goes wrong adds weeks — disputes over whether the notice was timely, missing forwarding address mail-backs, deductions the tenant disputes. The mitigations are all on the tenant side: deliver with proof, request a pre-move-out walkthrough, document the unit on the way out, and provide a real forwarding address.

Pay rent through the end of the rental month stated in your notice even if you move out earlier. Returning keys early does not, by itself, end your rent obligation under La. Civ. Code art. 2728. The tenancy ends on the date stated in the notice — earlier physical departure is fine, but the rent runs through the stated end date unless the landlord agrees in writing to release you sooner. (Some landlords will agree to release the tenant once a replacement is found; ask, but get it in writing.)

What happens after the notice period ends

On the last day of tenancy stated in your notice, the tenancy formally terminates. You should surrender possession on or before that date — return all keys, garage remotes, mail keys, and any access cards or fobs. Document the condition of the unit with timestamped photos and video, ideally at the same time you do the move-out walkthrough. Confirm in writing (text is fine for this part) that the keys have been returned and the unit surrendered.

The one-month security deposit clock under La. R.S. 9:3251 runs from termination of the lease. The deposit is due within that one calendar month; if any portion is retained, the itemized statement accounting for it is due within one month after the tenancy terminates or within fifteen days after the date that is one month after it terminates. Retention is limited to what is reasonably necessary to remedy a default of the tenant or to remedy unreasonable wear to the premises (R.S. 9:3251(A)). Painting, normal carpet wear, and ordinary cleaning are typically not lawful deductions.

If the deposit and itemization are returned within the statutory period and the deductions are reasonable, the move-out is complete. If the landlord misses the deadline or makes deductions that look retaliatory or unfounded, your remedy is a written demand letter followed by small claims court. In Louisiana the figure is fixed by La. R.S. 9:3252: on a willful failure the tenant recovers the wrongfully retained portion plus three hundred dollars or twice that portion, whichever is greater. Because the statute makes failure to remit within thirty days after written demand willful by definition, a dated written demand is what converts an ordinary dispute into that penalty — which is usually what motivates settlement.

Security deposit return under § 9:3251

The security deposit is where most tenant move-outs go sideways. The legal framework is straightforward, but enforcement depends on the tenant’s documentation. Build the file from day one of the notice period.

What the landlord must do within one month

La. R.S. 9:3251 requires the landlord to return the deposit within one month after the lease terminates and, if any portion is retained, to forward a written itemized statement accounting for the proceeds retained and giving the reasons therefor within one month after the tenancy terminates or within fifteen days after the date that is one month after it terminates. Louisiana does not require receipts or supporting documentation to be attached — several other states do, and guidance written for them travels badly here. The landlord must also return any portion of the deposit not lawfully deducted. The month is a calendar month, not a count of thirty days.

Lawful deductions

Louisiana does not enumerate deduction categories: 9:3251(A) permits retention only of what is reasonably necessary to remedy a default of the tenant or to remedy unreasonable wear to the premises. Anything outside those two grounds is a wrongful retention. Painting after a long tenancy is generally ordinary wear; deep stains, holes beyond reasonable hanging, and damage from neglect are not.

Pre-move-out walkthrough — y