Notice to Quit

A Notice to Quit is a letter that is given to a tenant requesting them to vacate the premises of the landlord. This letter informs the tenant of the landlord's intention to evict them from the rental property. The landlords is the owner of the rental property and the party that let the property to the tenant in exchange for rent.

The tenant may be evicted from the premises for several reasons which include, but not limited to late or non payment of rent, illegal activities done in the premises, constituting nuisance on the premises or breach of one or more covenants in the Lease Agreement.

The notice stipulates the period within which a tenant must quit possession of the premises. It also outlines the particulars of the parties, the location of the rental property, the date the notice will expire, and the nature of the tenancy (weekly, monthly, yearly etc) as it will determine the length of notice to be given.

A landlord seeking to recover possession of his property in a periodic tenancy or before the expiration of a fixed-term tenancy is required by law to issue this notice to quit. The period of notice given will depend on the Residential Lease or Commercial Lease Agreement.

In the absence of any agreement, the period of notice will be determined by the law depending on the type of tenancy which are described as follows:

• Periodic tenancy: This is a type of tenancy that continues for successive periods until terminated by the landlord. This includes monthly, yearly, weekly, bi-annually and quarterly tenancies. According to the law, a yearly tenant is entitled to 6 (six) months notice, a quarterly (four months) or a half-yearly tenant is entitled to 3 (three) months notice, a monthly tenant is entitled to 1 (one) month notice and a weekly tenant is entitled to 1 (one) week notice.

• Tenancy for a fixed period: This tenancy has a fixed duration after which the tenant will be required to vacate the premises, unless the term is renewed. For this type of tenancy, the landlord/agent is not mandated to issue a notice to quit after the expiration of the term of the tenancy. The landlord/agent is only mandated to issue a seven days owner's intention to recover possession.

• Tenancy at will: This is the type of tenancy that can be terminated by the landlord or the tenant at any time. It usually exists without any written agreement. For this type of tenancy, the landlord/agent is required to issue a one week notice to quit.

How to use this document

This document can be used by a landlord or an authorized agent of the landlord. This document is used when the landlord intends to eject a tenant/lessee from his/her premises. After filling the form, the form must be signed by the landlord, if the landlord will be issuing this letter. However, the form must be signed by an agent of the landlord (for example, lawyer, family relative, etc.) if an authorized agent of the landlord will issue this letter.

After signing the document, the landlord/agent is expected to serve this notice to the tenant personally. After this is done, the landlord/agent will wait until the notice period expires before serving the tenant with a seven days owner's intention to recover possession.

Applicable Laws

In Lagos State, the Rent Control and Recovery of Residential Premises Law, Lagos State Tenancy Law of 2011 is applicable. Also, the Tenancy Laws of various States are applicable.

How to modify the template

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