9-209.Demand for rent - eviction action.

Section 9-209 sets out the core rent-demand notice used to end a tenancy for nonpayment. At any time after rent is due, the landlord or the landlord's agent may demand payment and notify the tenant in writing that the lease will terminate unless payment arrives within a stated period of at least five days after service.

If the tenant does not pay within that period, the landlord may treat the lease as ended and bring an eviction or ejectment action without any further notice or demand. A claim for the rent itself, including a pro rata amount for any period a judgment is later stayed, may be joined in that same complaint, and judgment may be entered for the rent found due.

The section also addresses partial payment. A notice is not automatically undone just because the tenant pays some, but not all, of the amount demanded by the end of the notice period -- unless the landlord agrees in writing to continue the lease in exchange for the partial payment. To make sure tenants understand this, the statute requires the notice to prominently warn that only full payment of the amount demanded will waive the landlord's right to terminate, absent such a written agreement.

Collecting rent that is past due after the eviction or ejectment suit has already been filed does not undo the suit, so a landlord is not forced to choose between taking payment and continuing to pursue the case.