Rhode Island Notice to Vacate

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

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)).

Ending a week-to-week tenancy: 10 calendar days

• Week-to-week tenancy: written notice 'at least ten (10) days before the termination date specified in the notice' (§ 34-18-37(a)).

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

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

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

Preparing the notice

The form asks for the tenancy, the date the tenant must leave and how the notice is delivered, and states the notice period plainly. You enter the period; where LeaseCraft has verified the Rhode Island period for ending a month-to-month tenancy, it refuses a shorter one.

Create a Rhode Island notice to vacate

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.

Notice to Vacate rules in nearby states

Notice to Vacate rules for every state