How to Evict a Tenant in Rhode Island: Laws, Process, and Timeline
Rhode Island Eviction Timeline 2026: Drug and Violent-Crime Breaches of § 34-18-24(8)–(10) Get No Notice At All, Not the Longest One
Rhode Island’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-1 et seq., sends eviction cases to the appropriate district court or housing court and spells out, section by section, what each notice must say and the earliest day a complaint can be filed.
Grounds and Notice Periods
| Ground | Notice Period | Statute | Curable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-payment of rent | Once rent is 15 days in arrears, a written demand giving 5 days from the date of mailing to pay; the complaint can be filed no earlier than the 6th day after mailing | § 34-18-35(a)–(b) | Yes — paying the arrears within the 5 days, or at any point before suit is filed; after filing, only at the hearing (full arrears plus court costs) and only if the tenant got no demand notice in the prior 6 months (§ 34-18-35(e)) |
| Material noncompliance with the rental agreement, or noncompliance with the tenant duties in § 34-18-24 materially affecting health and safety | 20 days to remedy; the agreement terminates on a date at least 21 days after the notice was mailed if uncured | § 34-18-36(a)(3), (b) | Yes — remedying before the date in the notice keeps the agreement alive (§ 34-18-36(b)) |
| Substantially the same violation recurs within 6 months of a good-faith notice | At least 20 days’ written notice — same length as the first notice, not shorter | § 34-18-36(e) | No — the statute says no time to remedy is required |
| Narcotics nuisance on the premises; manufacture, sale or delivery of a controlled substance, or possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver a schedule I or II controlled substance, on the premises or adjacent public property; or a crime of violence there | None required — the landlord can file for eviction immediately | § 34-18-36(f), referring to § 34-18-24(8)–(10) | No — § 34-18-36(b) carves these three violations out of the cure rule |
| Seasonal tenant (written lease within May 1–Oct 15, or Sept 1–June 1, with no right of renewal) charged with a municipal-ordinance violation or breaching lease terms on legal occupancy, excessive noise, or disturbing the peace | None required — immediate filing | § 34-18-36(f)(i)–(ii) | No |
| No-cause, month-to-month | 30 days’ written notice (10 days for week-to-week; 3 months before the end of the occupation year for year-to-year) | § 34-18-37(a)–(c) | N/A |
Some guides describe drug crimes, violent crimes and narcotics nuisance as getting a 20-day notice — the same length, or even framed as longer, than an ordinary lease violation. That has it backwards. Under § 34-18-36(f), a violation of § 34-18-24(8), (9) or (10) — maintaining a narcotics nuisance, manufacturing, selling or delivering a controlled substance on the premises or adjacent public property, possessing a schedule I or II controlled substance there with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver it, or committing a listed crime of violence there — lets the landlord skip the noncompliance notice and file immediately. The no-notice rule is tied to those three subdivisions (and to the seasonal-tenant case in § 34-18-36(f)(i)–(ii)), not to criminal activity in general. The statute defines those crimes of violence itself: murder, manslaughter, arson, rape, sexual assault, mayhem, kidnapping, assault with a dangerous weapon, assault or battery involving grave bodily injury, and felony assault with intent to commit any offense, plus attempts. The 20-day figure belongs to ordinary lease violations and health-and-safety noncompliance — the most serious conduct actually moves faster through the system, not slower.
The Court Process
- File. A nonpayment case starts with a “Complaint for Eviction for Nonpayment of Rent,” filed no earlier than the 6th day after the demand was mailed. Lease-violation and holdover cases use a “Complaint for Eviction for Reason Other Than for Nonpayment of Rent,” filed no earlier than the first day after the termination or expiration date (§§ 34-18-35(b), 34-18-36(b), 34-18-38(a)).
- Summons. In a nonpayment case the summons carries the hearing date, and the tenant can answer at or before the hearing (§ 34-18-35(c)). In other cases the tenant has 20 days from service to file an answer, and the matter is then assigned for hearing under the court’s rules (§§ 34-18-36(c), 34-18-38(b)).
- Hearing. If a nonpayment tenant answers and needs discovery, the court can continue the hearing and order interim rent in the meantime (§ 34-18-35(d)).
- Judgment. A landlord who prevails recovers possession and actual damages; in a nonpayment case, attorney’s fees are also available when the nonpayment was willful and the tenant had received a demand notice in the 6 months before filing (§ 34-18-35(d)).
- Execution. If no appeal is claimed and the judgment hasn’t been satisfied, execution issues on the 6th day after judgment, directed to the division of sheriffs or a certified constable, and stays in force for one year (§ 34-18-48).
What This Costs
Confirm the current filing and service fees with the clerk of the district or housing court where the complaint will be filed. One statutory add-on is worth knowing: the clerk can add the sheriff’s or constable’s costs of carrying out the execution, including reasonable moving costs, to the execution once the court approves them (§ 34-18-48).
What a Landlord Cannot Do
A Rhode Island landlord who unlawfully removes or excludes a tenant, or willfully interrupts heat, running water, hot water, electric, gas, or another essential service, lets the tenant recover possession or end the agreement and collect the greater of three months’ rent or three times actual damages, plus attorney’s fees (§ 34-18-34). Distraint for rent — seizing a tenant’s goods to cover arrears — is abolished outright (§ 34-18-42). Section 34-18-46 bars retaliation for code complaints, complaints to the landlord, or joining a tenants’ union, and a complaint made within 6 months before the landlord’s action creates a presumption of retaliation, except that the presumption does not arise if the tenant made the complaint after notice of a proposed rent increase or reduction in services (§ 34-18-46(b)). The protection also does not stop a possession case where the tenant is in default in rent, where the code violation was caused primarily by lack of reasonable care by the tenant, a family member or a guest, or where code compliance or other public action requires work that would deprive the tenant of use of the unit and the municipality has met the relocation requirements (§ 34-18-46(c)).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Rhode Island landlord have to give 20 days’ notice before evicting over drug activity or violence on the property? No — that’s backwards. For a narcotics nuisance, drug manufacture, sale or delivery, possession of a schedule I or II controlled substance with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver, or a listed crime of violence on the premises or adjacent public property, § 34-18-36(f) excuses the noncompliance notice and the landlord can file immediately. The 20-day figure applies to ordinary lease violations, not this category.
Does a Rhode Island tenant get 20 days to cure a lease violation, or 15? 20 days — the notice gives 20 days from mailing to fix the problem, and the termination date it names can’t be sooner than 21 days after mailing. The 15-day number in this chapter belongs to rent, not lease violations: it’s how far in arrears rent must be before the nonpayment demand goes out.
Does a repeat lease violation get a shorter notice than the first one in Rhode Island? No — if substantially the same violation recurs within 6 months of a good-faith notice, the landlord still gives at least 20 days’ written notice, just without a further opportunity to cure it.