Delaware rent notice

1. Confirm that this form fits the home and the debt

Use this form for a new, undelivered demand for undisputed rent at a lawful ordinary residential home outside incorporated towns and cities in Kent County. A Dover mailing address alone does not establish that the property is outside Dover city limits. Confirm the actual jurisdiction. This form is for the landlord signing personally and maintaining a permanent rent-payment place in Kent County, identified in the payment instructions.

The supported debt is rent for occupancy only, with no fees or other sums due and no payments or credits accepted for the periods listed. Earlier notices, repayment agreements, disputed balances, repairs or code complaints, bankruptcy, military protections, court orders, special housing and government assistance or covered financing require a separate review. A lease that provides a longer grace period, extra notice steps or more time to pay must also be honored; this form does not shorten those rights.

Kent County's housing-code provisions in Chapter 175 address property standards and county enforcement. They do not replace Delaware's landlord-tenant rent-demand and service rules. If the tenant claims a condition or code violation affects the debt or your right to possession, obtain advice before using this limited form.

2. Establish the amount and wait until a demand is permitted

Under 25 Del. C. §§ 5501 and 5502, the rent due date, initial late-fee grace period and later demand period are separate. Section 5502 requires the applicable grace period to expire before the rent demand is given. Section 5501(d) does not permit a late fee within five days of the agreed payment time. Under the short-period rule in § 5112, intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays are excluded when computing a period shorter than seven days. Do not substitute five calendar days for that initial period.

The online form checks for five complete intervening nonholiday weekdays after each rent due date. You must separately check any longer grace period in the lease. Section 5501(d) also requires a permanent payment place in the county where the premises are located; without one, the agreed time for payment is extended by three days. This form requires that payment place and does not calculate the alternative situation.

List each due date and the unpaid rent attributable to it. Compare the total with the lease, ledger, receipts and any third-party payments. Delaware's late-fee rule has conditions, including a five-percent monthly-rent cap and a lease provision; it does not make a fee automatically payable. This form excludes fees and other charges altogether. If any are owed, or a payment or credit needs allocation, use a separately reviewed notice rather than inserting the amount as rent.

3. Count from actual receipt and state the correct consequence

Section 5502(a) requires a written demand giving at least seven days and stating that the landlord may file an action in court to terminate the rental agreement if payment is not made within that period. The notice itself does not terminate the lease or order the tenant to leave. This distinction matters when choosing the notice title, demand language and next step.

For the personal-delivery method supported here, exclude the day the tenant actually receives the complete notice. Count seven days after that day. Unlike the shorter grace period, intervening weekends are included. Under § 5112, if the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the period extends through the next day that is none of those. Check the applicable Delaware holidays and the lease before relying on an end date.

The date printed on the notice identifies its preparation; it is not proof of receipt. This form states a period relative to actual personal delivery and does not calculate a filing date. If named tenants receive copies on different dates, retain the separate facts and have the timing reviewed before filing. Do not start the clock merely because a notice was signed, downloaded or shared.

4. Keep signing, legal-help materials and delivery distinct

Section 5606 requires approved legal-representation information with a § 5502 past-due-rent notice. The packet retains the English, Spanish and Haitian Creole materials linked by the court or program coordinator. These pages inform tenants of legal assistance; they are not internal preparation instructions and must not be discarded to shorten the notice. Assistance and representation depend on the program's eligibility, implementation and funding rules, not merely on receiving a flyer.

Print the demand, rent statement and all three legal-help pages. Personally hand the complete signed notice packet to each named adult tenant. Section 5113 recognizes other service routes with their own conditions, but this form and its delivery record support actual personal hand delivery only. A mailing, posting, email or text is not converted into that method by checking a box. Use separate guidance if personal delivery cannot be completed.

Electronic signing is optional here only when the landlord and every named tenant have agreed to electronic signatures for this notice. 6 Del. C. §§ 12A-105, 12A-107 and 12A-108 address agreement, recognition, retention and delivery requirements. A typed or drawn signature on this website does not prove the tenants' agreement and does not replace statutory service. Without that agreement, print and sign by hand. Keep the signed copy and complete the separate delivery record only after the handover, entering the actual recipient, place, date, time and deliverer's signature.

5. Recheck the debt instead of relying on an old notice total

Under § 5502(c)–(d), full payment of all rent due before an action is filed prevents a possession action based on that nonpayment. The landlord cannot refuse rent tendered by the tenant or on the tenant's behalf. The court's current directive distinguishes permissible payment formats: before judgment, lease-specified methods may be required; after judgment, certified check or money order may be required. It also states that electronic or written checks from charitable organizations or government assistance programs cannot be refused.

Do not add a reservation saying the landlord may keep pursuing eviction despite full rent payment. Preserve receipts, identify what each payment covers and update the ledger. Payment after filing or judgment has additional statutory consequences; it is not resolved by the pre-suit notice alone. A partial payment, new agreement or contested allocation takes the situation outside this form's new-unpaid-rent scope and needs review before further action.

6. Account for redemption rights and court orders

Justice of the Peace Court Policy Directive 26-277 explains the right of redemption under 25 Del. C. § 5716A for eligible residential cases whose sole basis is nonpayment. An eligible tenant can cure before actual eviction by paying the required amount. After judgment, that amount can include the judgment, court costs and awarded fees, accrued rent and current rent due. It is not necessarily the dollar amount on the original demand or judgment.

Eligibility has important exceptions, including the directive's treatment of two or more qualifying nonpayment possession judgments in the prior eighteen months and the separate rules for co-tenants. A proved nonmonetary ground can change the result. The court determines these issues; do not assume that every tenant is eligible or that every prior case removes the right. A private agreement cannot waive the statutory right of redemption.

If full redemption payment is received, notify the court immediately and, when a writ exists, make reasonable efforts to notify the constable. The directive also requires immediate written reporting of any payment received after a writ, including partial payment, so the balance can be recalculated. It provides a court stay and review process for claimed payment. A landlord must not treat a payment dispute as permission to bypass the court, change locks or remove belongings.

7. Complete a usable notice and a truthful record

The blank version has six pages: the demand, an empty rent statement, three required legal-help pages and a separate record of personal delivery. Complete the notice date, all tenant names, full rental address, total rent, payment recipient and methods, permanent Kent County payment address, landlord name and mailing address. Itemize the rent due dates and amounts on the statement and check that its total equals the demand. Sign the demand after completing and reviewing it.

Give each tenant the complete signed notice, statement and legal-help materials. Keep a copy of exactly what was delivered. The last page records the hand delivery as it actually occurred; leave its delivery date, time and recipient entries blank until then. It is not an advance certification and does not prove service of a later summons or complaint. If a case is filed, use the court's current filing documents and requirements in addition to this notice and your evidence.

8. Sources and limits of this review

Core sources: 25 Del. C. §§ 5501–5502: rent and demands; §§ 5112–5113: time and service; §§ 5606–5607: legal-representation information and implementation; 6 Del. C. Chapter 12A: electronic transactions; and the court's landlord-tenant resource page. The September 11, 2026 Directive 26-277 explains the September 1 amendments and redemption procedure.

The underlying Kent County and statutory review was completed October 25, 2026. Court resources, electronic-transactions law, legal-representation provisions and the unchanged disclosure files were checked again October 27, 2026. The form's date checks cover October 25 through December 31, 2026; that window is a tool limit, not a rule that other dates are unlawful. Check for later law, orders and local requirements before use. This guide explains the supported process and does not determine the outcome of an individual dispute.