It’s unfortunate, but there are times when we have to say goodbye to tenants. Those times often happen through the process of eviction.

There’re many reasons to evict tenants. Nonpayment is most popular. But lease violations, property damage, and illegal behavior are others.

If you must release a problem tenant from your property, there’s a process you must follow. Drafting a notice that expells someone from the premises is one of them.

To write up a notice to evict a tenant for a legitimate reason, continue on. Read here to learn how to draft an eviction letter.

Before You Draft the Eviction Letter, Know the Laws in Your Area

Evictions are not always a smooth process. So you don’t want to exacerbate the process by not following the proper procedure. Know the laws first.

Every state has different eviction laws. Before your draft up the letter, make sure you fully understand the eviction laws in your area.

The process for a neighboring county may not be the same for yours. So avoid adding trouble to an already tough procedure by knowing what to do first.

Choose a Format

Eviction notices can get served as legal documents. That means they should not look or read like personal letters to friends and family.

The format of your letter should be business-style. And the information in the notice should have a professional tone.

It should remain formal from start to finish.

Date

Always date your notice. Reason being, the tenant has x amount of days to comply with the steps listed in the letter.

In general, those days range from 3 to 60 days, depending on local law.

In the eviction process, landlords can serve different types of notices:

• 3-day pay or vacate
• 10-day notice to comply or vacate
• 20-day post to end a tenancy

Either of the these could be an option. So be sure the proper date’s posted on the letter.

Addressee

The addressee is the tenant(s) you’re evicting from the property–the persons named in the lease. Their name(s) should appear in the right margin under the date.

Make sure this information is correct and correlates to what’s on the lease agreement. Then add the address. This information falls right underneath the tenant’s name(s).

Landlord Information

This is where you inform the tenant of who’s serving them and where to respond. Be sure this section includes the formal name or names of the landlords who are requesting the eviction.

It should also include a valid address and phone number to where a tenant can reach you.

Notice

The notice part of the letter should inform the tenant of the steps required to remedy the eviction process.

The letter must be clear in stating the exact reason for the eviction. It must also state what further action(s) the landlord intends to take if the allotted time elapses on the notice.

Keep the letter as brief as possible. Refrain from bubbly language that may confuse the intent of the notice, and stay to the point. Remain respectful and leave out words the tenant might interpret as angry or abusive.

The Closing

Close the letter with the same professional tone. Sign and print your name. Then date it using the date you served the notice.

In Sum

The eviction process is never easy but at times you’re forced to do it. Before you start the process, educate yourself on the laws in your area.

Afterward, draft your eviction letter and follow the steps required to serve the tenant(s).

Read about our eviction and landlord assistance for additional information about the eviction process.