Rhode Island rent demand

Using a five-day rent demand in Richmond, Rhode Island

This guide explains the ordinary residential, rent-only demand supported here. The notice is a demand before a court case, not an eviction judgment. The form uses District Court DC-55 and an itemized rent statement. Its mailing certificate records a separate event: what actually happened when the demand was mailed.

1. Check the tenancy and the overdue rent

R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-35(a) permits the nonpayment process when stipulated rent is in arrears for fifteen days. The prescribed demand in § 34-18-56(a) and the court form describe rent as more than fifteen days overdue. To match that wording, this tool requires every rent period demanded to be at least sixteen days late. That is the tool's narrower eligibility rule; it is not a claim that the statute says sixteen days.

Use the rental agreement and payment history to identify each due date and unpaid amount. For example, on October 27, a charge due October 1 meets this tool's age requirement, while a charge due October 15 does not. Do not bring a newer charge into the demand simply because an older installment qualifies. Name the tenants, identify the actual premises and unit, and verify the postal address. A Richmond mailing address or ZIP alone does not establish that a property is inside the town boundaries.

This branch is for the landlord/owner of an ordinary, lawful, registered rental inside Richmond, Washington County, with required local licenses current. It does not cover an agent signing instead of the owner, special or program housing, tribal land, short-term or mobile-home arrangements, covered or uncertain financing, additional lease notice terms, prior demands, payments or credits, repayment agreements, repair disputes, code orders, retaliation concerns or other special protections. Those circumstances require a separate review before choosing a notice.

2. Reconcile the amount; do not turn charges into rent

The amount on the demand must match the rent statement. This form accepts unpaid rent only and excludes late fees, utilities, damages, collection costs, attorney fees and other charges. It is not a calculator for every sum a lease might mention. A payment or credit must be accounted for, even if doing so means this narrow form no longer fits. Do not enter a paid installment as unpaid or disguise another charge as rent.

Payment methods also deserve attention. Section 34-18-61 prohibits a convenience fee on rent payments, with an exception where the landlord accepts a method that does not require such a fee. This form does not determine that a particular fee is lawful and does not add one to the demand. Keep the agreement, dated ledger and payment evidence available; the generated statement does not resolve a disputed balance.

3. Mail the complete demand and record the actual mailing

The certificate in § 34-18-56(a) calls for regular U.S. Mail, first-class postage prepaid, addressed to the tenant. This branch requires every page of the demand and rent statement to be mailed to each named tenant on the printed mailing date. It does not substitute an email, text, website share action or personal handoff for that mailing. A certified-mail-only procedure is not the procedure implemented here.

Prepare and review the notice first. Sign the demand, make complete copies, and carry out the mailing. Only afterward complete and sign the retained copy's mailing certificate with the actual day, month and year. Do not sign that certificate in advance: it says the mailing already occurred. Keep a copy of everything sent and any mailing evidence. If the planned mailing does not happen that day, prepare a notice with the correct mailing date and check the balance again instead of relying on a stale date.

4. Understand the five-day opportunity to pay

Under § 34-18-35(a)-(b), the tenant has five days from mailing to cure the nonpayment, and a nonpayment case may not be filed earlier than the sixth day after mailing. Section 43-3-13 excludes the day of the triggering act when computing time. The waiting period does not begin when the file is generated or electronically signed; the relevant act is the mailing.

The form intentionally does not supply an automatic court-filing date. Before filing, verify the actual mailing, the elapsed notice period, any applicable holiday or court rule, the lease, orders, federal requirements and payments made since preparation. A completed calendar interval does not itself establish a right to possession. The tenant retains the opportunity to raise a legal defense at the eviction hearing, as the court demand states.

5. Recheck payments, cure rights and defenses

Under § 34-18-35(e), tender of the full rent before suit cures the failure to pay. When the tenant has not received a demand under that section in the six months immediately before the filing, the statute also provides a right to cure at the hearing by tendering the rent in arrears and court costs. Do not read the five-day demand as removing every later opportunity to cure.

Section 34-18-41 separately addresses acceptance of rent with knowledge of a default, a written-notice provision within ten days, and partial payments. It states that accepting a partial payment does not waive the balance due. The effect of accepting money on termination and available remedies needs review in the actual circumstances. This tool therefore stops at a new demand with no payments or credits, rather than deciding those issues for you.

Under § 34-18-32, a tenant can assert a counterclaim arising from the rental agreement or the Act; if no rent remains due after its application, the tenant receives judgment on possession. Section 34-18-46 also regulates retaliation, including complaints about housing conditions and the exercise of lawful rights. Its exceptions and continuing landlord liability need case-specific analysis. A repair complaint or other dispute should not be removed from consideration by simply selecting “new unpaid rent.”

6. Confirm state registration and Richmond requirements

Section 34-18-58 requires landlord and property information in the statewide rental registry. For covered pre-1978 property, it also requires a valid lead certificate or sufficient evidence of an exemption. Following initial registration, the statute requires re-registration by October 1 each year to update or confirm the information. A new acquisition or beginning to lease triggers the statute's thirty-day registration rule.

The filing consequence is direct: under § 34-18-58(g), a landlord cannot commence a nonpayment eviction without compliance with subsections (a), (b) and (d), and must present evidence of that compliance at filing. Completing this form does not register the property or establish lead compliance.

Richmond Code chapter 5.06 separately governs local business licensing. It requires covered businesses to provide ownership, use and contact information, a zoning-use determination and compliance affidavit. Section 5.06.040 requires the annual renewal form by December 31 to avoid expiration; § 5.06.050 explains that this license does not replace other required licenses or permits. Confirm the requirements for the particular rental operation with the town. The local licensing chapter does not supply a different five-day demand sentence, and no unrelated municipal citation has been added to the tenant's court notice.

7. Sign the demand, then follow the court process if needed

Paper signing remains available. Electronic signing is optional here only after the owner and every named tenant have agreed to electronic signatures for this notice and the owner intends to sign. Rhode Island's UETA scope, agreement rule, signature recognition and attribution rule operate together. A checked box does not by itself prove that every tenant agreed. Keep evidence of the actual agreement; otherwise print and sign by hand.

Section 42-127.1-8 preserves specified delivery methods subject to its limited provisions. The signing option here does not change first-class mailing or fill the separate mailing certificate. Neither a typed signature nor the QR link serves the notice.

If nonpayment remains unresolved, § 34-18-35 describes a separate complaint, summons, answer and hearing process. Preserve the demand, actual mailing record, rent ledger and registration/lead evidence for that review. The notice does not authorize a lockout or utility cutoff: § 34-18-44 prohibits self-help recovery outside the circumstances permitted by the Act. A hearing and any later enforcement are separate from preparing this demand.

8. Completing the blank notice

The blank version has two pages: the original court demand and a rent statement. Write the mailing date, all tenant names, complete rental address, matching unpaid-rent total, and owner name and address. On the statement, identify each qualifying due date and unpaid amount and add the total. Use the same scope and sixteen-day age check described above; a blank file cannot check them for you.

Sign the demand after completing and reviewing it. Keep the actual-mailing certificate blank until the mailing occurs. Read all the tenant-facing court wording, including the right to present a defense; do not remove it to shorten the form. The statement's small website link and QR return to this Rhode Island form and contain no tenant information. They are not part of mailing, registration or court filing.

Official state statutes and Richmond business-license chapter reviewed October 27, 2026. The unchanged court demand is DC-55, revised January 2023. This guide describes the form's limited Richmond scope; it does not certify compliance with every property-specific order, lease or housing program.