In Louisiana, an eviction notice is a written notice to vacate that gives the tenant at least five days to leave the property, and a landlord has to deliver one before filing anything in court.1Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Art. 4701 – Termination of Lease; Notice to Vacate; Waiver of Notice Skipping the notice, miscounting the days, or delivering it the wrong way will usually sink the eviction case before a judge ever looks at the underlying dispute. The notice is where most Louisiana eviction cases are won or lost.
When the Five-Day Notice Is Required
The five-day written notice is mandatory any time a tenant’s right to occupy the property has ended and the landlord wants possession back. The reason the occupancy ended doesn’t change the requirement. Unpaid rent, a lease violation, the end of a fixed-term lease, or an occupant with no lease at all: in each case the landlord must put the demand in writing and give at least five days to leave.1Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Art. 4701 – Termination of Lease; Notice to Vacate; Waiver of Notice2Justia Law. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Art. 4702 – Notice to Vacate
Month-to-Month Tenancies
Month-to-month leases carry an earlier step. The landlord has to terminate the lease itself with ten calendar days’ notice before the end of the current month.3Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 2728 – Notice of Termination; Timing That termination notice can do double duty as the notice to vacate, so two separate papers aren’t always necessary. But the timing has to work. A termination notice given on the 25th of a month doesn’t end the lease until the last day of the following month, because the ten-day window for the current month was already blown.
When the Lease Waives the Notice
Louisiana lets tenants waive the five-day notice in writing, and a lot of residential leases include exactly that clause. If the lease contains a written waiver, the landlord can go straight to court the moment the tenant’s right to stay ends, with no advance warning at all.1Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Art. 4701 – Termination of Lease; Notice to Vacate; Waiver of Notice Before assuming you have five days, check the lease.
What the Notice Should Contain
The statute requires only that the notice be written and give at least five days. It doesn’t dictate the contents. In practice, a vague or inconsistent notice is one of the easiest things for a tenant to attack at the hearing. A notice that will hold up should include:
- The full name of every adult tenant on the lease.
- The complete property address, including any unit number.
- The reason for the eviction: nonpayment, a specific lease breach, expiration of the term, or another ground.
- The date by which the tenant must leave, at least five days from delivery.
- The date the notice is actually delivered, because the five-day clock starts on delivery rather than the date the notice was written.
If the notice names someone who isn’t on the lease, lists the wrong address, or mischaracterizes the violation, a judge can dismiss the case on that ground alone.
How to Deliver the Notice
Louisiana law requires the notice to be “delivered to the lessee,” and courts have read that language strictly. Handing the document directly to the tenant is the safest method and the easiest to prove later.
Door-posting is allowed, but only in specific circumstances: when the property appears abandoned, the premises are closed, or the tenant’s location is unknown. In those situations, attaching the notice to a door of the property has the same legal effect as personal delivery.4Justia Law. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Art. 4703 – Delivery or Service When Premises Abandoned or Closed Posting the notice simply because the tenant wasn’t home that afternoon is risky. The statute ties door-posting to abandonment or unknown whereabouts, not to the landlord’s convenience.
However you deliver it, document the delivery. A written affidavit stating when, where, and how the notice was served is close to essential. A witness present during delivery or posting cuts off the common tenant defense that the notice never arrived. Proof of service is the first thing a judge checks, and a landlord who can’t prove proper delivery loses before the merits are heard.
The notice has to reach every adult tenant on the lease. Leaving a single copy with a roommate isn’t enough.
What Happens After the Five Days
If the tenant hasn’t left when the notice period expires, the landlord files a rule to show cause (sometimes called a rule for possession) in the local court. The filing asks the court to summon the tenant and require them to explain why possession shouldn’t be returned to the landlord, and it must state the specific grounds for the eviction. When the lease contains a waiver clause, the landlord can file the rule immediately once the tenant’s right to stay ends, without waiting out any notice period.5Justia Law. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Art. 4731 – Rule to Show Cause Why Possession Should Not Be Delivered
Once the tenant is served, the court sets a hearing no earlier than three days after service.6Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Art. 4732 – Trial of Rule; Judgment of Eviction At the hearing, the judge reviews the lease, the notice, proof of service, and whatever evidence of the violation or nonpayment the landlord brought. The tenant can raise defenses at that point.
A judgment of eviction orders the tenant to leave within 24 hours. That deadline isn’t flexible. If the tenant is still there when the 24 hours expire, the court must issue a warrant directing the sheriff, constable, or marshal to remove the tenant and clear the premises.7Justia Law. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Art. 4733 – Warrant for Possession if Judgment of Eviction Not Complied With The officer executes the warrant in the presence of two witnesses, removes the tenant’s property from the unit, and delivers possession to the landlord.8Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Art. 4734 – Execution of Warrant The warrant is automatic; the landlord doesn’t have to file a separate request.
Defenses a Tenant Can Raise
Louisiana tenants have real defenses available at the hearing, and some of them work even when rent is clearly owed.
Defective Notice
The most common winning defense is that the notice itself was defective. Common problems include notice delivered to a roommate instead of the tenant, notice posted on the door when the tenant was reachable, notice that didn’t actually give five full days, and notice that failed to name every adult tenant on the lease. Any of these can get the case dismissed.
Rent Accepted After the Notice
If the landlord accepts a rent payment after serving the notice to vacate, Louisiana courts have treated that acceptance as curing the default and reinstating the lease. Landlords who send a notice and then cash the next rent check out of habit have handed the tenant a complete defense.
Right to Cure in the Lease
Some leases give the tenant a chance to fix a violation after receiving notice. When the lease contains that kind of cure clause, the landlord has to honor it. Filing for eviction without allowing the cure period is premature and can be dismissed.
Judicial Discretion in Nonpayment Cases
Louisiana courts have equitable discretion to deny an eviction even where rent is unpaid, particularly where the nonpayment wasn’t willful or in bad faith. A tenant who had a temporary setback and can show they’re able and willing to pay what’s owed may persuade a judge to deny the eviction. It isn’t guaranteed. But a tenant who shows up to the hearing with the back rent in hand is in a far stronger position than one who doesn’t.
The 24-Hour Appeal Window
A tenant who loses the hearing has one of the shortest appeal windows in Louisiana procedure. To stay in the property during the appeal, the tenant must file a suspensive appeal and post an appeal bond within 24 hours of the judgment, and must also have filed a sworn answer raising an affirmative defense that entitles them to keep possession.9Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Art. 4735 – Appeals All three requirements have to be met. A devolutive appeal doesn’t require a bond and isn’t bound by the 24-hour deadline, but it also doesn’t stop the eviction; the landlord can still have the tenant removed while the appeal is pending.
Landlords Can’t Evict Without the Court
Louisiana prohibits landlords from retaking a rental property outside the court process. Changing the locks, cutting off utilities, removing doors or windows, or hauling a tenant’s belongings to the curb are all forms of illegal self-help eviction. A landlord who forces a tenant out without a judgment is liable for damages that can include loss of personal property, inconvenience, physical suffering, and mental anguish. Louisiana courts have treated wrongful eviction as a bad-faith breach of the landlord’s obligations, which opens the door to both foreseeable and unforeseeable damages. If you want possession back, the written notice and the rule to show cause are the only path.