A sample 60-day notice to vacate letter should identify the landlord and every tenant on the lease, give the full rental address, state a specific calendar date by which the tenant must be out, and — where local law requires it — state a qualifying reason for ending the tenancy. The template below works as a starting point for a month-to-month termination. Adapt it to your state and local rules, and read the sections that follow before you send it, because a defective notice gets an eviction case thrown out and forces you to start the clock over.
Sample 60-Day Notice to Vacate
[Landlord Name or Property Management Company]
[Landlord Mailing Address]
[City, State, ZIP]
[Phone Number]
[Date]
To: [Tenant Full Name(s)]
[Rental Property Address, Unit Number]
[City, State, ZIP]
RE: 60-Day Notice to Vacate
Dear [Tenant Name(s)],
This letter serves as formal written notice that your month-to-month tenancy at the above address will terminate on [Termination Date — exact calendar date]. You are required to vacate the property and return all keys and access devices by that date.
[If just cause is required: This termination is based on the following reason: (state the specific legally permissible reason, e.g., “The owner intends to occupy the unit as their primary residence.”)]
Please contact me at the number above to schedule a move-out inspection before your departure. Your security deposit, less any lawful deductions, will be returned to your forwarding address within the time period required by law. Please provide your forwarding address in writing before you move out.
Sincerely,
[Landlord Signature]
[Printed Name]
[Date Signed]
What the Letter Must Contain
A notice has to carry enough detail that a court can confirm the right tenant was warned, at the right address, with enough time. Vague notices get challenged successfully. Include each of the following:
- Full names of every adult tenant on the lease. Missing a co-tenant creates problems later.
- The landlord or property manager name, matching the name on the lease.
- The complete property address, including unit number, city, state, and zip code.
- The date the notice is written and signed. This anchors the start of the 60-day countdown.
- A specific calendar termination date. Don’t write “60 days from today.” Write the actual date.
- The reason for termination if your jurisdiction has a just cause law.
Instructions about returning keys, the forwarding address for the deposit, and the move-out inspection aren’t legally required in the notice everywhere, but including them reduces disputes.
Picking the Termination Date
The termination date is where most notices fall apart. Two rules trip landlords up.
The day you serve the notice usually doesn’t count as day one. Hand the notice over on June 1 and the clock starts on June 2, which puts the earliest termination at July 31 rather than July 30.
Many jurisdictions also require the termination date to fall on the last day of a rental period. If rent is due the first of each month, the termination date needs to be the last day of a calendar month. A notice served on June 15 reaches 60 days around August 13, but the effective termination date pushes to August 31 to align with the end of the rental period.
Build in a few extra days rather than cutting it close. A notice giving 63 days is valid. A notice giving 58 days is not.
When a Reason Is Required
A growing number of cities and states have just cause eviction laws that restrict the reasons a landlord can end a tenancy. In those jurisdictions, you can’t end a month-to-month tenancy just because you want to; you need a qualifying reason, and the notice has to spell it out.
Common no-fault reasons that qualify include the owner or a close family member moving into the unit, withdrawing the unit from the rental market, substantial renovation that requires a vacant unit, and demolition. At-fault reasons such as nonpayment or lease violations use shorter notice periods and a different format entirely, not this letter.
If your property sits in a just cause jurisdiction and the notice either omits the reason or states one that doesn’t qualify, the notice is invalid. This is one of the most common mistakes landlords make, and it usually means starting over.
Subsidized and federally assisted housing programs often impose their own notice rules that override state law. If the property participates in a government housing program, check that program’s regulations before relying on the general rules.
Which Notice Periods Apply
Sixty days isn’t the universal rule. Several states require 60 days’ written notice when a month-to-month tenant has been in the unit a year or more. Others set 60 days as the standard for all month-to-month tenancies. Some jurisdictions never require 60 days and use 30-day or shorter periods instead. Check your state’s landlord-tenant statute before drafting.
A 60-day notice is also specific to no-fault terminations: selling the property, moving a family member in, taking the unit off the market, or simply not continuing the tenancy. It is not the right document for unpaid rent or a lease violation, which use a shorter cure-or-quit notice.
How to Deliver It
A perfectly drafted notice means nothing if you deliver it the wrong way. Courts take service seriously.
- Personal service. Handing the notice directly to the tenant is the strongest method. In most jurisdictions, handing it to another adult at the property also counts.
- Certified mail with return receipt. The signed receipt is your proof the tenant received it, and the date on the card starts the clock.
- Post and mail. If you can’t reach the tenant in person, some jurisdictions let you tape the notice to the front door and mail a copy by first-class mail at the same time. This is a fallback, and some states don’t allow it for pre-litigation notices at all.
Document everything regardless of method. Write down the date, time, and method; note who you handed it to if you served in person; keep certified mail receipts. Some jurisdictions require a formal proof of service affidavit, and even where it isn’t required, preparing one protects you if the tenant later claims they never got it. A professional process server, typically $30 to $150, handles delivery and documentation together.
After You Serve the Notice
Collect rent as usual through the termination date. The trap comes after. Accepting rent for any period past the termination date can revive the tenancy; courts in many states treat post-termination rent acceptance as evidence you agreed to continue the rental relationship, which nullifies the notice. The legal term is waiver. If rent is due on the first and your notice terminates the tenancy on July 31, July’s rent is fine. If August 1 arrives, the tenant is still there, and they offer a check, cashing it can reset the whole process.
A notice to vacate is not an eviction, it’s the required step before one. If the termination date passes and the tenant stays, you cannot change the locks, shut off utilities, or move their belongings out. Self-help evictions are illegal in every state and carry serious liability. The next step is filing an unlawful detainer action in court.
Fair Housing and Retaliation Limits
Federal law prohibits terminating a tenancy based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, or disability. These protections come from the Fair Housing Act and apply everywhere.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3604 – Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing and Other Prohibited Practices Many states add further protected classes, including sexual orientation, gender identity, source of income, and immigration status. A notice that targets a tenant because of a protected characteristic is illegal even if the paperwork is flawless.
Retaliation is the other risk. Most states prohibit a notice to vacate issued in response to a tenant exercising legal rights, such as filing a habitability complaint, requesting repairs, reporting code violations, or participating in a tenant organization. Some states presume any notice served within a set window after a tenant complaint (often 90 to 180 days) is retaliatory, which shifts the burden to the landlord to prove a legitimate reason. If a tenant has recently complained and you’re considering a notice, get legal advice before serving.