Create Your Pay-or-Quit Notice

The written demand a landlord must serve — and let run for a statutory period — before filing an eviction case for unpaid rent. It states the amount owed and the deadline to pay, and that the landlord will seek possession in court if it isn't paid (e.g., CCP §1161(2); Fla. Stat. §83.56(3); RPAPL §711(2); 735 ILCS 5/9-209; O.C.G.A. §44-7-50). It removes nobody: only a court order does, and self-help (lockouts, utility shutoffs, removing belongings) is unlawful in every state. It's the first rung of the landlord's get-paid ladder — late-rent notice → pay-or-quit → court → judgment enforcement.

Whatever your state says, counted your state's way: 3 court days in California and Florida (weekends and holidays excluded), 3 business days in Georgia (§44-7-50(c)), 3 calendar days in Texas unless the lease says otherwise (§24.005), 3 or more in Ohio (count business days to be safe), 5 in Illinois, 10 in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, 14 in New York, Virginia (since July 1, 2026), Washington, Minnesota and Massachusetts, 7 judicial days in Nevada, 10 in DC (since December 31, 2025) — and 30 days wherever the CARES Act applies (15 U.S.C. §9058(c)). New Jersey, Missouri, South Dakota and West Virginia require no pre-suit notice for nonpayment. The form computes the deadline and the earliest filing date from your service date and method.

The CARES Act (15 U.S.C. §9058(c)) requires 30 days' notice before a tenant in a "covered dwelling" can be required to vacate — any property with a federally backed mortgage (FHA, VA, USDA, or a loan owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac) or in a federal program (Section 8, LIHTC, USDA rural housing). It has no expiration date; the Congressional Research Service estimates it covers 28–46% of rental units; and courts in Colorado, Ohio, Washington and Indiana have dismissed cases filed on a state-minimum notice (*Arvada Village Gardens v. Garate*, 529 P.3d 105 (Colo. 2023); *Olentangy Commons v. Fawley*, 228 N.E.3d 621 (Ohio App. 2023)). Iowa's supreme court disagreed in 2025, so the split is real — which is why this form treats "don't know" as covered and prints both the state payment deadline and the 30-day vacate date.

Only where your state allows it. California: rent only — the courts' own guidance says you cannot ask for other money in this notice, and an overstated amount is invalid (CCP §1161(2)). New York: rent only (RPAPL §702). Florida: rent only unless the lease defines late fees as additional rent (§83.56(3)). Georgia requires the opposite — all past-due rent, late fees, utilities and other charges (§44-7-50(c)); Minnesota and Washington require an itemized accounting (§504B.321 subd. 1a; RCW 59.18.057); HUD-assisted housing requires arrears itemized by month (24 CFR §247.4). The form gates the fee fields by state.

It depends on the state, and the form prints your rule on the roadmap. Illinois requires the notice itself to say that only full payment waives termination unless you agree in writing (735 ILCS 5/9-209). Florida lets you keep your rights after a partial payment only by giving a receipt showing the balance, depositing it in the court registry, or serving a new notice (§83.56(5)(a)). In Chicago, accepting rent with knowledge of the default waives the notice (RLTO §5-12-130). In New York, full rent paid before the hearing must be accepted and ends the case (RPAPL §731(4)); Virginia gives a right of redemption through the return date and up to 48 hours before eviction (§55.1-1250). This is a self-help document tool, not legal advice — for a partial payment, a subsidized unit, a servicemember tenant or a retaliation issue, involve an attorney in the property's state.