Do you want to end a month-to-month tenancy with no reason? Learn if your state needs one.
Just-Cause Eviction States: Where a Landlord Needs a Listed Reason to End a Tenancy
Learn the 7 jurisdictions that require just cause statewide, the city rules listed in 3 more states, and the 37 where the database lists no statewide rule, which is not a finding that none applies. Then choose your state in the free tool below, with the no-cause ground, to see the notice the statute sets.
Written for the landlord ending the tenancy. If you are a tenant asking whether a reason is required, the list is the same.
Quick answer
7 jurisdictions require just cause statewide: California, Colorado, District of Columbia, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington, each with its own coverage rule, such as California and Colorado after 12 months of tenancy and Oregon after the first year. New York's Good Cause Eviction Law applies in New York City and elsewhere only where a locality opts in. The NLIHC database lists local ordinances in 3 more states (Baltimore, St. Paul and Philadelphia) and narrow statewide rules in Connecticut, Louisiana and Michigan, and no statewide requirement in the other 37 states. Each rule was checked on October 14, 2026 against the statute, court page or database cited for it.
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Choose your state, a ground and the day the notice was served to learn the recorded notice period, your earliest filing date where the cell allows a count, the court, the answer or hearing timing, the filing fee and the just-cause rule.
A just-cause rule replaces the no-cause ending with a list: you may end the tenancy, refuse to renew or file for possession only on a ground the statute names. Several lists include no-fault landlord reasons, such as owner move-in, demolition or withdrawal from the rental market, with longer notice: 90 days in Colorado and Oregon, and in the District of Columbia 90 days for owner occupancy or 120 days for substantial rehabilitation.
New Hampshire's statute shows the shape. For restricted property, its listed grounds include nonpayment, damage, a material breach of the lease, other good cause, and the end of a lease after 12 months with 60 days' notice (RSA 540:2). Oregon after the first year of occupancy requires a tenant cause or a qualifying landlord reason (ORS 90.427).
What is the just-cause rule in each state?
Every jurisdiction where the dataset records something other than "no statewide requirement": 14 rows, quoted from the statute, court page or NLIHC entry listed under Sources. The other 37 states have no statewide requirement in the NLIHC database.
State
Status
Rule as recorded
California
Statewide
Yes (statewide Tenant Protection Act: just cause required for most residential tenants after 12 months of occupancy, Civ. Code 1946.2)
Colorado
Statewide
Yes (statewide since April 19, 2024 under HB 24-1098; applies to residential tenants after 12 months, with exemptions such as owner-occupied 1 to 3 unit properties and short-term rentals)
Connecticut
No general statewide rule
No general statewide requirement; narrow statewide rule: tenants who are elderly, ill or disabled in buildings of more than 5 units may be evicted only for cause (PA 80-370, per NLIHC)
District of Columbia
Statewide
Yes (District-wide under the Rental Housing Act: eviction only on the listed grounds, notwithstanding lease expiration)
Louisiana
No general statewide rule
No general statewide requirement (NLIHC lists only a 2023 disaster-abandonment protection, HB 160)
Maryland
No general statewide rule
No statewide requirement; local ordinance listed: Baltimore (2021)
Michigan
No general statewide rule
No general statewide requirement; mobile home residents need just cause (MCL 600.5775, per NLIHC)
Minnesota
No general statewide rule
No statewide requirement; local ordinance listed: St. Paul (2020)
New Hampshire
Statewide
Yes (statewide for restricted property, meaning residential rentals other than single-family houses of owners with 3 or fewer and units in owner-occupied buildings of 4 or fewer; listed grounds include nonpayment, damage, material lease breach, other good cause, and lease expiration after 12 months with 60 days notice)
New Jersey
Statewide
Yes (statewide: N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1 et seq. sets the grounds for removal and applies to residential tenants except hotels, motels and seasonal renters, per the court page)
New York
Local only
Local only: Good Cause Eviction Law (Real Property Law Article 6-A, 2024) applies in New York City; other localities only by voluntary opt-in (section 213)
Oregon
Statewide
Yes (statewide after the first year of occupancy; landlord needs a tenant cause or a qualifying landlord reason)
Pennsylvania
No general statewide rule
No statewide requirement; local ordinance listed: Philadelphia (2018)
Washington
Statewide
Yes (statewide: eviction, nonrenewal, or ending a periodic tenancy only for causes listed in RCW 59.18.650(2))
Learn more. Tap a topic to open it.
Learn which tenancies each statewide rule reaches and which rentals it leaves out.
Coverage is where the seven differ most. California's Tenant Protection Act applies to most residential tenants after 12 months of occupancy (Civ. Code 1946.2). Colorado's rule, in force statewide since April 19, 2024 under HB 24-1098, applies after 12 months, with exemptions such as owner-occupied properties of one to three units and short-term rentals. Oregon's applies after the first year of occupancy. New Hampshire's applies to restricted property, which leaves out single-family houses of owners with three or fewer and units in owner-occupied buildings of four or fewer.
For the other three the cells record no occupancy period. New Jersey's grounds for removal (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1 and following) apply to residential tenants except hotels, motels and seasonal renters. The District of Columbia permits eviction only on the grounds the Rental Housing Act lists, even after a lease expires. Washington allows eviction, nonrenewal or the end of a periodic tenancy only for the causes in RCW 59.18.650(2), with a no-cause ending only at the end of certain initial fixed terms on 60 days' written notice.
Learn about New York's Good Cause law, the city ordinances listed and the narrow statewide rules.
New York's Good Cause Eviction Law (Real Property Law Article 6-A, 2024) applies in New York City and elsewhere only by opt-in (section 213), so the chart records it as local only, though NLIHC lists it as state law.
NLIHC lists local just-cause ordinances in Baltimore (2021), St. Paul (2020) and Philadelphia (2018), in states with no statewide rule. It also lists three narrow statewide rules: in Connecticut, tenants who are elderly, ill or disabled in buildings of more than five units may be evicted only for cause (PA 80-370); in Michigan, mobile home residents need just cause (MCL 600.5775); and Louisiana's only listed protection is a 2023 disaster-abandonment rule (HB 160). The NLIHC local list is not exhaustive, so a city rule can exist where this table shows none.
Learn how just cause changes the no-cause notice and what still applies to unpaid rent.
It changes the notice, not the court steps: the District of Columbia does not permit a no-cause ending, Washington allows it only at the end of certain initial fixed terms, Oregon only in the first year, and Colorado requires 90 days for a no-fault ground. Unpaid rent still starts with the state's own notice: California's 3-day notice to pay rent or quit, Washington's 14-day notice to pay or vacate, Oregon's 10-day or 13-day notice, and the District of Columbia's notice of intent to file, with no filing allowed when less than $600 is owed (D.C. Code 42-3505.01).
Learn which rules rest on a statute and which on the national tenant protections database.
The statewide rules and the New York rule rest on the statute or court page. The "no statewide requirement" cells and the local and narrow rules rest on the National Low Income Housing Coalition Tenant Protections Database, updated March 30, 2026, which the Sources list marks secondary.
A "no" means no statewide rule was listed in that database on the check date; it is the cell most likely to change.
California, Colorado, District of Columbia, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington apply just cause statewide, 6 states plus the District of Columbia. New York applies its Good Cause Eviction Law in New York City and in localities that opt in.
Yes, for most residential tenants after 12 months of occupancy, under the statewide Tenant Protection Act (Civ. Code 1946.2). Before 12 months, the California court guide lists a 30-day notice to end a tenancy of under a year.
In New York City, yes, under the 2024 Good Cause Eviction Law (Real Property Law Article 6-A). Elsewhere in the state it applies only where a locality has opted in under section 213.
Yes, statewide since April 19, 2024 (HB 24-1098), for residential tenants after 12 months with exemptions, and no-fault grounds need at least 90 days' written notice (C.R.S. 38-12-1303).
The grounds the statute lists: tenant grounds such as nonpayment, damage and a material lease breach, and in Colorado, Oregon and the District of Columbia no-fault landlord grounds with longer notice. Washington's causes are in RCW 59.18.650(2).
No. California and Colorado apply it after 12 months and Oregon after the first year; Colorado exempts owner-occupied properties of one to three units and short-term rentals; New Hampshire covers restricted property only; and New Jersey excludes hotels, motels and seasonal renters.
Each statewide just-cause jurisdiction has its own notice for unpaid rent in the chart, from California's 3 days to Washington's 14, and New Hampshire lists nonpayment among its grounds. The District of Columbia bars filing when less than $600 is owed.
NLIHC lists Baltimore, St. Paul and Philadelphia, and New York City has the state Good Cause law. The NLIHC local list is not exhaustive, so a local rule can exist where this page shows none.
Information on this page reflects laws and published figures as of October 14, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice, and not a prediction for any matter. Rules and fees change; check the court or agency page linked for each figure.
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