Free Rhode Island Month-to-Month Rental Agreement Template

A Rhode Island month-to-month rental agreement covers a tenancy that runs from period to period rather than for a fixed term. It sits under the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, at chapter 34-18 of the General Laws.

Rhode Island goes further than most states here. It does not merely set a notice period, it prescribes the wording the notice should substantially follow.

Three features shape a Rhode Island month-to-month rental agreement, and the middle one is unusual.

Thirty Days, and Either Side May Give It

The landlord or the tenant may terminate a month-to-month tenancy, or any periodic tenancy for more than a month and less than a year, by written notice delivered to the other at least thirty days before the date specified in the notice.

Longer arrangements run differently. A year-to-year tenancy is ended by written notice delivered at least three months before the expiration of the occupation year.

The Statute Supplies the Form

The notice must be in a form substantially similar to the one set out at section 34-18-56(c). That section prints the notice, headed as a Notice of Termination of Tenancy and citing section 34-18-37, with a space for the date of mailing.

It directs the tenant to vacate, remove their property and personal possessions, and deliver control of the premises to the landlord on a stated date. It then states that the notice is given for the purpose of terminating the tenancy, that rent must continue to be paid as it becomes due until that date, that failure to pay may lead to a nonpayment eviction action, and that failure to vacate by the date specified may lead to an eviction without further notice.

The Vacate Date Falls at a Period Boundary

The prescribed form asks for control of the premises on the first day after the end of the current rental period. So the thirty days is a minimum, and the date named still needs to sit at the end of a rental period rather than partway through one.

Tip: A bill introduced in 2026 proposed lengthening this notice period. It is a proposal rather than law, so confirm the current text of section 34-18-37 before relying on the thirty-day figure.

Substantially what the statute says it should. Section 34-18-56(c) exists precisely so that neither side has to invent the wording, and following it closely is the safest course.

The elements are straightforward. Head the notice as a Notice of Termination of Tenancy and cite section 34-18-37. Record the date of mailing. Identify the premises by address. Direct the tenant to vacate, remove their possessions and hand over control on the stated date, being the first day after the end of the current rental period.

Then include the warnings the form carries: that the notice is given to terminate the tenancy, that rent continues to fall due until that date, that non-payment may bring a nonpayment eviction action, and that failing to leave by the date specified may bring an eviction without further notice.

One point runs the other way from some states. A rental agreement in Rhode Island cannot state that a tenant waives their rights under the Landlord-Tenant Act, so the notice rules are not something a Rhode Island month-to-month rental agreement can contract out of.

1. Work out when the current rental period ends.
2. Choose a vacate date that falls on the first day after the end of a rental period.
3. Count back and deliver the notice at least thirty days before that date.
4. Use wording substantially similar to the statutory form, including the warnings it carries.
5. Record the date of mailing on the notice itself.
6. Keep paying, or collecting, rent as it falls due until the date named.

For a Rhode Island month-to-month rental agreement, the terms worth setting down are:

• The date each rental period begins and ends
• The rent, the day it falls due, and how it is paid
• The address each party will accept notices at
• The deposit amount and the conditions for its return
• Which utilities and services each side is responsible for