How to terminate a month to month lease

A month to month lease can be terminated by either the landlord or the tenant by giving 15 days written notice to the other.

Rush: Hey, Tom thank you for your show. I have a tenant who've been in my place for about a year without a lease and I'm ready for them to leave. I need to do some work on the property, honestly, I need them out of there for a month and I don't want to bring them back. I was told that all you have to give them is a 15-day notice.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Yes. Do they pay rent on the first of the month?

Rush: No, they're supposed to, but they typically don't but definitely do.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Yes. Rush, you got to give them a 15-day notice but you can only ask them to be out on the first of the month. If you want the earliest at this moment in time, you can ask them to be out is January first and if that's what you want you've got to give them notice by December 15th.

Rush: Understood. All I can do at that point if they're not out by the end, then I start an eviction process, is that what I'm understanding?

Attorney Tom Olsen: Yes exactly. What I would recommend to you as a strategy is that you should number one, collect December rent because once you give them this notice they may say, "Oh, let's just quit paying rent then." Get your December rent and then by the 15th of December, give them this 15-day notice that you're terminating their lease at the end of December.

Rush: Okay, thanks Tom.

Attorney Tom Olsen: All right Rush, you're welcome. Bye-bye.