Art. 4701.Termination of Lease; Notice to Vacate; Waiver of Notice

Article 4701 opens Louisiana's eviction title with the trigger every landlord has to satisfy before turning to court: written notice to vacate. The notice requirement applies whenever the lessee's right of occupancy has ended, and the article lists its own examples without limiting the reasons, expiration of the lease term, action by the lessor, nonpayment of rent, or any other reason. Whatever ended the tenancy, the lessor or the lessor's agent has to deliver written notice, and that notice must give the lessee at least five days from delivery to vacate.

The timing of that notice depends on what kind of lease is involved. A lease with no definite term, such as a month-to-month tenancy, does not need a separate vacate notice at all: whatever notice the law already requires to terminate that kind of lease counts as the notice to vacate under this article. A lease with a definite term works differently; the lessor may give notice to vacate up to thirty days before the term expires, so the lessor is not stuck waiting until the last day of the lease to start the clock.

Article 4701 also lets the parties bargain around the notice requirement itself. A lease can include a written waiver of it, and once that waiver is in place, the lessor or the lessor's agent can move straight to the summary eviction procedure in Chapter 2 the moment the lessee's right of occupancy ends, for any reason, without delivering a notice to vacate first.