Rhode Island Eviction Notice

Rhode Island notice periods

Each period is the one LeaseCraft's record of the statute holds. Read it with the conditions under it: some periods are minimums and some apply unless the lease sets another. "Lease controls" means the record holds no statutory period for that situation, and "No pre-suit notice" means it holds no notice before filing. The source column shows the law and the date LeaseCraft read it on the official site (most recently 2026-09-27).

What the Rhode Island statute says

Unpaid rent: 5 calendar days

• Minimum-late requirement: rent must be 'due and in arrears for fifteen (15) days' before the landlord may send the demand notice (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-35(a)).
• Landlord sends a written demand notice 'in a form substantially similar to that provided in § 34-18-56(a)' stating the arrears and that the agreement terminates unless the tenant 'cures the breach within five (5) days of the date of mailing'.
• Clock runs from the date of mailing (first-class mail per the statutory form's certification), not from receipt.

Lease violation: 20 calendar days

• Written demand notice specifying the acts/omissions constituting the breach, what is needed to remedy it, and 'that unless the breach is remedied within twenty (20) days of mailing of the notice the rental agreement shall terminate upon a specified date, which shall not be less than twenty-one (21) days after the mailing of the notice' (§ 34-18-36(a)); form in § 34-18-56(b).
• Eviction may be filed no earlier than the first day after the termination date in the notice (§ 34-18-36(b)).

Exceptions

• Recurrence of substantially the same breach within six months: landlord may terminate 'upon at least twenty (20) days' written notice' with no cure (§ 34-18-36(e)).
• Violations of § 34-18-24(8)-(10) (crimes of violence, drug offenses on premises) and seasonal tenants charged with crimes: no notice of noncompliance required; landlord 'may immediately file a complaint for eviction' (§ 34-18-36(f)).

Ending the tenancy without a chance to cure: No pre-suit notice

• For tenant violations of § 34-18-24(8), (9) or (10) (criminal violence, drug manufacturing/dealing/possession on the premises) and for seasonal tenants charged with crimes, 'the landlord shall not be required to send a notice of noncompliance to the tenant and may immediately file a complaint for eviction' (§ 34-18-36(f)).
• Repeat of a cured breach within six months: at least 20 days' written notice, no cure (§ 34-18-36(e)).

Ending a month-to-month tenancy: 30 calendar days

• Month-to-month tenancy: written notice given 'at least thirty (30) days before the date specified in the notice' (§ 34-18-37(b)); statutory form in § 34-18-56(c).

Exceptions

• Year-to-year: at least three (3) months before the end of the occupation year (§ 34-18-37(c)).

Tenant staying after the lease ends: No pre-suit notice

• After expiration of the term or termination of a periodic tenancy, the landlord 'may commence an eviction action, which may be filed no earlier than the first day following the expiration or termination of the tenancy' — no separate holdover notice (§ 34-18-38(a)).
• 2024 amendment (P.L. 2024 ch. 409/410, eff. June 28, 2024) adds a post-death grace period allowing a deceased tenant's live-in caregiver/household members 18+ to remain up to three months or the remaining term.

Delivery, form and other Rhode Island rules

How the notice may be delivered

Demand notices under §§ 34-18-35 and 34-18-36 run from the 'date of mailing'; the statutory forms carry a certification that the notice was placed 'in regular U.S. mail, first class postage prepaid' addressed to the tenant at the premises (§ 34-18-56), so first-class mail is the statutory method (hand delivery is also generally recognized under the Act's notice rules — not verified).

R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-35(a); § 34-18-36(a); § 34-18-56 · read 2026-09-27

Required form or contents

Statutory forms: § 34-18-56 sets out the Five (5) Day Demand Notice for nonpayment (a), Notice of Noncompliance/20-day demand (b), and Notice of Termination of Tenancy (c) — notices 'in substantially the following language' suffice; § 34-18-35 requires the nonpayment notice to be 'in a form substantially similar to' § 34-18-56(a). https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/statutes/title34/34-18/34-18-56.HTM

• No rental-assistance or legal-aid statements are required in the statutory forms.

R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-56(a)-(c); § 34-18-35(a) · read 2026-09-27

Statewide just-cause rule

No statewide just-cause requirement

• No statewide just-cause requirement; periodic tenancies end on § 34-18-37 notice and holdover after expiration is a ground under § 34-18-38 without further notice.

R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 34-18-37, 34-18-38 · read 2026-09-27

Preparing the notice

The form asks for the tenancy, the kind of notice and the dates, and the notice ends with a Certificate of Service to record how you delivered it. Beside the finished notice you get a Rhode Island checklist of the period, form and delivery rules LeaseCraft recorded. The period in the notice is the one you choose; where LeaseCraft has verified the Rhode Island period and your deadline is too soon, the document is not prepared until you move it.

Create a Rhode Island eviction notice

A notice is not a court order and does not by itself remove a tenant. Cities and counties can add rules. LeaseCraft is not a law firm and this is not legal advice.

Eviction Notice rules in nearby states

Eviction Notice rules for every state