Delaware 5 Day Notice

It is time for that rent payment to be received. No word from your tenant and nothing in the mailbox to deposit into your bank account. Perhaps, you sent a warning letter and maybe even provided an excuse or a promise to pay. Even that does not happen as expected.

In Delaware, the procedure involves a notification of five days. This is NOT for a manufactured home or a trailer. Then the notice would have to be ten days. The notice is needed before the landlord can file in court for the official summary possession. This is the court proceeding that will restore possession back to the landlord.

In Delaware, a notice may not ask a tenant to move-out. However, it can provide language that asks the tenant to pay the full amount due or the lease or agreement for the rental unit shall terminate. This legalese basically means that the tenancy must be ended first, court proceedings next and when and only when a judgment for possession is in the landlord’s favor, will the tenant be asked to vacate the premises. This is also done through the court system.

BEWARE: A Landlord can end up in much hot water by taking matters into their own hands such as changing locks, threatening the tenant or turning off utilities. ALL matters of eviction MUST go through proper court channels!

In the state of Delaware, the laws regarding residential landlord-tenant arrangements are located in Title 25 of the Delaware Code. Chapter 55 deals specifically with the obligations of the tenant and what the landlord may do if the tenant does not meet those obligations.

This form is completely editable but again, be careful in altering the language too much as there are certain and specific text permitted and not permitted in these notices in the court.