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Rhode Island month-to-month lease agreement
Written for Rhode Island law, checked September 24, 2026 General information, not legal advice
A month-to-month tenancy renews each month until the landlord or the tenant gives notice. Choose month-to-month as the lease type, or set a fixed-term lease to convert to month-to-month when its term ends.
Rhode Island rules that apply
- Ending a month-to-month tenancy
- 30 days
- written notice before the date named
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-37(b)
- Rent increase notice
- 60 days
- 120 days for a month-to-month tenant over 62
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-16.1
Ending a month-to-month tenancy
Either side may end a month-to-month tenancy, or any periodic tenancy longer than a month and shorter than a year, by written notice delivered at least 30 days before the date named. A week-to-week tenancy needs at least 10 days, and a year-to-year tenancy needs notice at least three months before the end of the occupation year. Each notice should follow the statutory form.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-37 R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-56
More detail (3)
- Without a fixed term, a tenancy is week to week for a roomer who pays weekly and month to month in every other case. R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-15(d)
- The statutory form tells the tenant to leave on the first day after the end of the current rental period and to keep paying rent until then. R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-56(c)
- If the tenant stays on after the date, you may file on the next day. A willful, bad faith holdover can cost up to three months' rent or three times your actual damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney's fees. R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-38(a), (c)
The lease states all three notice periods, week to week, month to month and year to year.
Rent increase notice
Give the tenant written notice at least 60 days before a rent increase takes effect. A month-to-month tenant over the age of 62 gets at least 120 days' notice. Chapter 34-18 limits the notice, not the size of the increase.
More detail (3)
- Independent living, assisted living and congregate care facilities are excluded from both notice periods. R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-16.1(a), (b)
- Where another state or federal law or a housing program sets its own timeframe, this section does not require more notice than that. R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-16.1(c)
- A rent increase made in retaliation for a code complaint, a repair complaint, joining a tenants' union or using a legal right is prohibited. R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-46 See Retaliation on the Rhode Island page