Connecticut’s Notice to Quit is a free fillable PDF published by the state Judicial Branch as form JD-HM-7, and you can download it directly from the court’s housing forms page. It is the first required step before any eviction lawsuit, and the form has to be completed, served, and timed exactly the way the statute lays out. Mistakes on the PDF are one of the most common reasons eviction cases get dismissed before they ever reach the merits.1Justia. Connecticut Code 47a-23 – Notice to Quit Possession or Occupancy of Premises
Where to Download the PDF
The form is JD-HM-7 (catalog number JD-HM-007), most recently revised in October 2025.2Connecticut Judicial Branch. Official Court Forms of the Connecticut Judicial Branch Two ways to get it:
- Download the fillable PDF from the Judicial Branch website under housing forms.
- Pick up a paper copy at any housing court clerk’s office.
Both are free. Skip the generic landlord-tenant templates floating around on commercial sites. Connecticut courts expect this specific document, and a judge who sees a nonstandard notice may dismiss on that ground alone.
What to Fill In on JD-HM-7
The form has four fields that matter, and a tenant’s attorney will go after any of them that is wrong.3Connecticut Judicial Branch. Notice to Quit (End) Possession
Tenant and occupant names. Write the full legal name of every adult living in the unit, not just the people who signed the lease. Unnamed occupants left off the notice can delay removal later even if you win.
Property address. Street number, street name, and the apartment or unit number. “123 Main Street” is not enough if the property has six apartments.
Landlord information. Name and address of the landlord or an authorized representative, so the tenant knows who is demanding possession.
Legal ground. Check the box for the specific reason the tenancy is being terminated. You must pick at least one, and you have to be able to prove it.
Picking the Right Legal Ground
Connecticut General Statutes ยง 47a-23 lists every ground a landlord can use. Pick the wrong one and the notice is defective. The grounds you will see most often:
Nonpayment of Rent
You cannot serve a notice to quit for nonpayment until the statutory grace period expires. For a monthly tenancy that period is nine days after the rent due date. For a week-to-week tenancy it is four days.4Justia. Connecticut Code 47a-15a – Nonpayment of Rent by Tenant: Landlords Remedy Rent due on the first and a notice served on the eighth is premature, and the notice is void.
Lapse of Time
Use this when a fixed-term lease has expired and you do not want to renew, or when you want to end a month-to-month or week-to-week arrangement. The tenancy has simply run its course.1Justia. Connecticut Code 47a-23 – Notice to Quit Possession or Occupancy of Premises
Lease Violations and Nuisance
Material noncompliance covers unauthorized pets, significant property damage, repeated noise complaints, and similar breaches of the lease or house rules. Nuisance and serious nuisance are separate and more severe. Serious nuisance includes inflicting or credibly threatening bodily harm, substantial deliberate destruction of the property, conduct that poses an immediate safety danger, or using the premises for drug sales or prostitution.5Justia. Connecticut Code 47a-15 – Pretermination Notice Requirements The line between ordinary violation and serious nuisance matters because it decides whether you have to send a pretermination notice first.
When You Need a Pretermination Notice First
This is where landlords most often get tripped up. For most lease violations you cannot jump straight to the Notice to Quit. Connecticut law requires a separate written warning (the pretermination notice) that describes the problem and gives the tenant at least fifteen days to fix it.5Justia. Connecticut Code 47a-15 – Pretermination Notice Requirements If the tenant cures within those fifteen days, the tenancy continues and you cannot evict on that breach.
If the same problem comes back within six months of the pretermination notice, you can skip the fifteen-day cure period and serve the Notice to Quit directly.5Justia. Connecticut Code 47a-15 – Pretermination Notice Requirements
Three situations do not require a pretermination notice at all: nonpayment of rent, serious nuisance, and certain specific health and safety violations. For those, the Notice to Quit is the first document the tenant gets.5Justia. Connecticut Code 47a-15 – Pretermination Notice Requirements
Calculating the Quit Date
The quit date on JD-HM-7 is the deadline you give the tenant to leave. Connecticut requires at least three full days between the date of service and the quit date. The day of service does not count. So if a marshal serves the notice on a Monday, the three full days are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, which makes Friday the earliest valid quit date. The Judicial Branch’s own example runs the math in reverse: a May 15 quit date means the notice must be served no later than May 11.6Connecticut Judicial Branch. A Landlords Guide to Eviction (Summary Process)
The tenant has until midnight on the quit date to vacate. Filing in court even a day early gives the tenant grounds for dismissal.
How to Serve the Notice
A completed PDF is worthless until it reaches the tenant through a legally recognized method. Connecticut allows service by a “proper officer” (such as a state marshal) or an “indifferent person” who has no personal stake in the dispute.1Justia. Connecticut Code 47a-23 – Notice to Quit Possession or Occupancy of Premises Most landlords hire a state marshal, because the marshal produces a sworn return of service that carries real weight in court. Service can happen any day of the week, weekends included.
The server delivers a copy to each named tenant, either by handing it over directly or by leaving it at the tenant’s residence.1Justia. Connecticut Code 47a-23 – Notice to Quit Possession or Occupancy of Premises State marshals operate within their assigned county and charge fees that vary with mileage and the number of tenants being served.7State of Connecticut State Marshal Commission Manual. Section 4 – Civil Process The return of service documents the date, time, and method of delivery, and it becomes part of the court file if the case moves forward.
What does not count: email, text message, and regular mail. Even under federal electronic signature law, electronic delivery of legally required notices needs the recipient’s prior written consent, which tenants facing eviction have almost never given.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce A notice to quit sent by email will get the case dismissed.
What Happens After the Quit Date
If the tenant leaves, the notice did its job. If the tenant stays past midnight on the quit date, the notice has still done its job: it established that you demanded possession and the tenant refused. You can then file a summary process action (Connecticut’s eviction lawsuit) in housing court. The filing fee is $175, and from that point the summons and complaint must be served by a state marshal, not an indifferent person.9Connecticut Judicial Branch. Court Fees10Connecticut General Assembly. Connecticut Code Chapter 832 – Summary Process
Important: a notice to quit is not an eviction order. The tenant is not required to leave just because they received one, and you cannot change locks, shut off utilities, or remove belongings based on the notice alone. Only a judgment of possession and a marshal’s execution can remove a tenant.
Federal Rules That Can Override the State Timeline
Three federal protections can delay or block an eviction even when the Connecticut notice is flawless. Check these before you serve.
Active-duty military tenants. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, servicemembers and their dependents cannot be evicted without a court order when the residence is their primary home and monthly rent falls below an inflation-adjusted ceiling (roughly $10,240 in 2026). A court must grant at least a 90-day stay on request if military service has materially affected the tenant’s ability to pay.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3951 – Evictions and Distress Before any default judgment, you must file an affidavit stating whether the tenant is in military service. A false affidavit is a federal crime punishable by up to one year in prison.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3931 – Protection of Servicemembers Against Default Judgments
Tenant bankruptcy. If the tenant files for bankruptcy before you obtain a judgment for possession, the automatic stay freezes the eviction and you cannot proceed until the bankruptcy court lifts it.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay
Federally subsidized units. If the unit receives federal assistance (public housing, project-based Section 8, and similar programs), different notice rules can apply. A HUD rule issued in January 2025 requires a 30-day notice before termination for nonpayment in covered properties, superseding Connecticut’s shorter timeline.14Federal Register. 30-Day Notification Requirement Prior to Termination of Lease for Nonpayment of Rent As of early 2026, HUD has delayed a proposed revocation of that rule and is taking public comments, so landlords of federally assisted properties should confirm with counsel which notice period currently governs their program before serving JD-HM-7.