Where Louisiana landlord-tenant law comes from
Louisiana is a civil-law state, and its rental rules are written in the vocabulary of the Civil Code. A rental agreement is a lease, the landlord is the lessor and the tenant is the lessee. The rights and duties of each are set out in the Civil Code’s title on lease, while the court process for removing a tenant is in Articles 4701 through 4735 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Deposits are handled separately, in Revised Statutes 9:3251 through 9:3253. Several everyday topics that other states cover in a landlord-tenant act, such as late fees and routine entry, are left mostly to the lease, so a clear written lease matters a great deal in Louisiana. A buyer’s attorney will read your lease form closely for the same reason.
Louisiana landlord-tenant rules at a glance
The table covers the rules apartment owners ask about most, as of October 2026.
| Rule | Louisiana requirement | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Ending a month-to-month lease | Notice at least ten calendar days before the end of the month | Civil Code art. 2728 |
| Ending a lease measured in periods longer than a month | Notice at least 30 calendar days before the end of the period | Civil Code art. 2728 |
| Notice to vacate before eviction | Written notice giving at least five days from delivery, unless waived in the written lease | CCP art. 4701 |
| Security deposit cap | No maximum amount in the deposit statute | R.S. 9:3251 |
| Deposit return | Within one month after the lease ends, with an itemized statement for any amount kept | R.S. 9:3251 |
| Wrongful withholding | Tenant recovers the amount withheld plus the greater of $300 or twice the amount | R.S. 9:3252 |
| Time to comply after eviction judgment | 24 hours, then a warrant for possession | CCP art. 4733 |
How much notice does a landlord have to give in Louisiana?
For a month-to-month lease, a landlord must give notice at least ten calendar days before the end of the month, under Civil Code Article 2728. Notice given on time ends the lease at the end of that month. Notice given late ends it at the end of the next month instead.
Leases measured by longer periods need 30 calendar days’ notice before the end of the period, and leases measured by the week need five calendar days. A lease with a fixed end date ends on that date, but check your lease for renewal language and serve any notice it requires well before the term runs out.
The notice that ends the lease is not the same as the notice to vacate that starts an eviction. Article 4701 says that for a lease with no definite term, the termination notice counts as the notice to vacate. For a lease with a definite term, the notice to vacate may be given up to 30 days before the term ends.
Notice for nonpayment and the five-day notice to vacate
When a tenant’s right to occupy has ended, whether because the lease expired, the lessor ended it, or rent went unpaid, the lessor must deliver a written notice giving at least five days to vacate before filing. That is Article 4701 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Many Louisiana leases include a written waiver of that notice, and the article allows it. If the lease contains the waiver, the lessor can file for eviction as soon as the right of occupancy ends. Check your lease form for this clause before you sell; buyers value it because it shortens the time from default to filing.
The Louisiana eviction process and timeline
A Louisiana eviction is a summary proceeding called a rule to show cause, filed in court. After the notice period runs, the lessor files the rule, the tenant is served, and the court hears the case quickly.
- Notice to vacate: at least five days, unless waived in the written lease (CCP art. 4701).
- Hearing: the rule is returnable no earlier than the third day after service (CCP art. 4732).
- Judgment: if the lessor wins, or the tenant does not answer or appear, the court renders a judgment of eviction immediately, effective for at least 90 days.
- Possession: if the tenant has not left within 24 hours of the judgment, the court issues a warrant directing the sheriff, constable or marshal to deliver possession (CCP art. 4733).
- Appeal: must be requested and the bond filed within 24 hours of the judgment, and it stops the eviction only if the tenant answered under oath with an affirmative defense (CCP art. 4735).
Security deposits in Louisiana
Louisiana’s deposit statute sets no cap on the amount, so the lease and the market decide it. What the law controls is the return. Under R.S. 9:3251, the lessor must return the deposit within one month after the lease ends and may keep only what is reasonably needed to cure a tenant default or repair unreasonable wear. If any amount is kept, the lessor must send an itemized statement of the reasons, and the tenant must provide a forwarding address.
The return rule does not apply if the tenant abandons the premises without the notice the lease requires. Getting the return wrong is expensive. If the lessor willfully fails to comply, the tenant can recover the amount wrongfully withheld plus the greater of $300 or twice that amount, under R.S. 9:3252, and failure to pay within 30 days of a written demand counts as willful. Courts may also award attorney’s fees to the winning side under R.S. 9:3253.
Act 63 of 2026: more time to itemize deposit deductions
House Bill 292 became Act 63 of 2026, signed by the governor on May 11 and effective August 1, 2026. It amends R.S. 9:3251(A) so that a lessor who keeps part of a deposit may send the itemized statement within an additional 15 days after the one-month deadline.
In practice, that gives a lessor about six weeks after move-out to finish repair estimates and send the itemized list. The deposit itself is still due within one month. Update your move-out checklist and deposit letters for leases ending after August 1, 2026, and keep proof of the date you mailed each statement.
Does Louisiana have rent control?
Louisiana has no state rent control law. R.S. 9:3258, enacted in 1977, says a lessor has the right to the ownership, control, use, enjoyment and disposition of private property, including leasing it, and that these rights can be changed only by state law, subject to the reasonable exercise of the police power.
For a seller, that means rent levels on your rent roll are set by the leases and the market, not by a local ordinance. Ask a Louisiana attorney before relying on that section in a specific dispute, since it does not use the words rent control.
What happens to leases and deposits when you sell
Existing leases stay in force when you sell, and the buyer steps into your place as lessor. Tenants keep their terms and rents until the lease ends or is properly terminated.
Deposits move with the building. Under R.S. 9:3251(B), when the lessor transfers the leased premises during a lease, the deposit passes to the successor, who becomes responsible for returning it. Credit deposits to the buyer on the closing statement, list each tenant’s deposit on the rent roll, and give the buyer copies of the leases and any waiver clauses. Tell tenants in writing where to pay rent after closing.
Lease terms worth checking before you sell
Because so much of Louisiana rental law lives in the lease, your lease form is part of what a buyer is buying.
- Whether the lease includes a written waiver of the five-day notice to vacate.
- Late fee terms and how they are calculated.
- Entry terms for repairs and showings.
- Deposit amounts, and whether any deposits were credited or returned early.
- Renewal and reconduction language for fixed-term leases near their end.
Records that make an eviction or a sale go smoothly
Louisiana’s eviction schedule is short, which rewards owners who keep clean files. With the hearing as early as the third day after service and the tenant given only 24 hours after judgment, there is little time to pull documents together once a case starts.
Keep a signed copy of every lease, a dated copy of every notice and proof of how it was delivered, a ledger showing rent charged and paid, and move-in and move-out condition reports with photos. The same file answers a buyer’s due diligence questions. A buyer who can see who owes what, which deposits are held and which units are in a case will price the building with fewer reserves for unknowns.
Selling a Louisiana apartment building with tenants
Skyline buys apartment buildings with five or more units in Louisiana, occupied or not, with the leases and deposits in place. We buy directly, close on your timeline, and can work inside 1031 deadlines. You do not need to empty units, renew leases or settle an eviction before you call.
For the tax side of a sale, see Louisiana capital gains tax on real estate and property tax rate in Louisiana.
