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Tennessee Notice to Vacate Letter

Fill in your details, review the tennessee notice to vacate letter, and edit the wording before you send. Copy the finished text or download a Word file for free.

[Your full name]

[Date]

[Your landlord's name]

Re: Notice to vacate — [Rental property address]

Dear [Your landlord's name],

Please accept this letter as my formal written notice that I will terminate my tenancy at [Rental property address] and vacate the premises on [Move-out date].

Under Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act — Termination of Periodic Tenancy; Holdover Remedies (Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-512), a month-to-month tenancy may be terminated by the tenant on 30 days written notice. This notice is given in accordance with that requirement and with any additional notice period my lease provides.

I will leave the unit clean and in good condition, ordinary wear and tear excepted, and will return all keys and access devices on or before my move-out date. I would like a move-out inspection during my final week; please propose a date and time.

Please send my security deposit, with any itemized statement required by law, to my forwarding address: [Your forwarding address]. Kindly confirm receipt of this notice in writing.

Sincerely,

[Your full name]

Know your rights

Notice to vacate law in Tennessee

Tenant notice required: 30 days
Governing statute: Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-512
How the clock runs: In counties covered by Tennessee's URLTA, a month-to-month tenant terminates by written notice given at least 30 days prior to the periodic rental date specified in the notice — meaning the tenancy must end on a periodic rental date (typically the day rent falls due), so mid-cycle notice pushes termination to the close of the next full period.
Delivering the notice: The statute requires written notice but prescribes no single method for tenant notices, so hand-deliver a dated letter or send it by certified mail with return receipt and keep proof.
Fixed-term leases: A fixed-term lease ends per its own terms, and many Tennessee leases auto-renew month-to-month absent notice, so the lease's renewal clause controls. Holding over without the landlord's consent exposes the tenant to a possession action, back rent, and attorney's fees under § 66-28-512(c), with actual damages added if the holdover is willful and not in good faith.

Worth knowing: Tennessee's URLTA applies only in counties with more than 75,000 residents per the 2010 federal census — roughly 19 counties including Davidson, Shelby, Knox, Hamilton, Rutherford, and Montgomery. In smaller counties no statute fixes the tenant's notice and common law governs, so 30 days ending on a rent date remains the safe practice there. Week-to-week tenants in URLTA counties need only 10 days' written notice before the termination date.

Last reviewed August 2026 · General information, not legal advice · Read the statute · Also for Tennessee: security deposit demand letter

Field notes

Three tips before you send

The statute requires written notice but prescribes no single method for tenant notices, so hand-deliver a dated letter or send it by certified mail with return receipt and keep proof.
In counties covered by Tennessee's URLTA, a month-to-month tenant terminates by written notice given at least 30 days prior to the periodic rental date specified in the notice — meaning the tenancy must end on a periodic rental date (typically the day rent falls due), so mid-cycle notice pushes termination to the close of the next full period.
Date math is unforgiving — the clock usually runs from the day your landlord receives the notice, not the day you write it. Build in a few days of cushion, and photograph the empty unit when you hand back the keys.

Straight answers

Questions people ask

How much notice does a tenant have to give in Tennessee?

In counties covered by Tennessee's URLTA, a month-to-month tenant terminates by written notice given at least 30 days prior to the periodic rental date specified in the notice — meaning the tenancy must end on a periodic rental date (typically the day rent falls due), so mid-cycle notice pushes termination to the close of the next full period. The governing statute is Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act — Termination of Periodic Tenancy; Holdover Remedies.

What happens when a fixed-term lease ends in Tennessee?

A fixed-term lease ends per its own terms, and many Tennessee leases auto-renew month-to-month absent notice, so the lease's renewal clause controls. Holding over without the landlord's consent exposes the tenant to a possession action, back rent, and attorney's fees under § 66-28-512(c), with actual damages added if the holdover is willful and not in good faith. Check your lease for a renewal or notice clause — where the statute allows it, the lease controls.

Anything else Tennessee renters should know before moving out?

Tennessee's URLTA applies only in counties with more than 75,000 residents per the 2010 federal census — roughly 19 counties including Davidson, Shelby, Knox, Hamilton, Rutherford, and Montgomery. In smaller counties no statute fixes the tenant's notice and common law governs, so 30 days ending on a rent date remains the safe practice there. Week-to-week tenants in URLTA counties need only 10 days' written notice before the termination date.

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When to use this letter

Moving out should be the easy part — but in Tennessee, when you give notice and how you deliver it decide whether you owe another month of rent. The rule that matters: for a month-to-month tenancy, Tennessee law generally requires 30 days written notice from the tenant, under Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act — Termination of Periodic Tenancy; Holdover Remedies. This generator writes a tenant's notice to vacate that cites Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-512 by name, states your move-out date, and asks for the move-out inspection and your deposit instructions in the same letter — so nothing gets renegotiated later. No blank template to fight with: fill in your landlord, the address, and the date, then send it in a way you can prove, because notice clocks here run from delivery, not from the day you write it.