Notice a tenant must give to move out, by country
The notice a tenant owes runs from 30 days (Spain, after a six-month minimum stay) to three months (Germany, Sweden, Norway and Austria), with Ontario at 60 days and the Netherlands tying the period to the rent-payment cycle, between one and three months. The rules also cover different things: Germany, Sweden and Norway set the period for open-ended residential tenancies, Austria only for a fixed-term flat after its first year, Ontario for any tenancy ending at the end of a period or term, and Spain for any housing lease once six months have passed. Only the Netherlands requires a formal form (a bailiff's writ or registered letter), and Norway and Sweden let the parties agree a different period while Germany and the Netherlands make a worse period for the tenant void.
Scope of this guide
Canada: the Canada Labour Code (federal sector) and the Ontario statutes that LawAsked has loaded. Other provinces are not compared.
| Country | Notice period | Tenancy covered | Form of notice | Limits and other conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 3 months, to the end of a month | Fixed-term tenancy of a flat, after the first year | In writing or through the court | The right cannot be waived or restricted |
| Canada | 60 days (monthly, yearly or fixed-term tenancy); 28 days (daily or weekly) | Any tenancy, ending at the end of a period or fixed term | The termination date must be the last day of a rental period; a notice given when signing the tenancy agreement is void | |
| Germany | 3 months: notice by the third working day of a month, ending at the end of the month after next | Residential tenancy, ordinary notice | An agreement worse for the tenant is void | |
| Spain | 30 days (10 days for a temporary housing lease) | Housing lease; temporary housing lease | Only after 6 months (1 month for a temporary lease); no compensation owed to the landlord | |
| Netherlands | One rent-payment period, but not under 1 month and not over 3 months | Open-ended tenancy, and a fixed-term tenancy before its term runs out | Bailiff's writ or registered letter | Ends on an agreed rent-payment day; a clause to the contrary is void |
| Norway | 3 months, ending at the end of a calendar month; 1 month for a single room in the landlord's home, a garage or a store room | Open-ended tenancy | The parties may agree otherwise | |
| Sweden | 3 months, to the month-end after three months from notice (flat) | Open-ended lease of a flat; fixed-term flat lease longer than three months | A longer notice period applies only if agreed |
Country by country
Austria
- Rule
- Mietrechtsgesetz § 29 (2)
- Applies to fixed-term main and sub-tenancies of a flat covered by the MRG. The tenant may end the tenancy early on the last day of a month once a year of the agreed or extended term has passed.
- The ingested MRG text states no notice period for open-ended tenancies. The ABGB Bestandvertrag chapter has a general default notice period where nothing else is set, which is not tabulated because the MRG may override it for flats it covers.
hat der Mieter nach Ablauf eines Jahres der ursprünglich vereinbarten oder verlängerten Dauer des Mietverhältnisses das unverzichtbare und unbeschränkbare Rechtjeweils zum Monatsletzten gerichtlich oder schriftlich unter Einhaltung einer dreimonatigen Kündigungsfrist zu kündigen Canada
- Rule
- Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (Ontario) ss. 37, 44 and 47
- Ontario only. For a fixed-term tenancy the 60 days run to the expiry date in the agreement. A notice for the last day of February or March is treated as 60 days if given by 1 January or 1 February respectively.
- The same Act has shorter periods for care homes and other special cases, which are not tabulated. The federal Canada Labour Code does not deal with tenancy.
A notice under section 47, 58 or 144 to terminate a monthly tenancy shall be given at least 60 days before the date the termination is specified to be effective and that date shall be on the last day of a rental period.A notice under section 47, 58 or 144 to terminate a daily or weekly tenancy shall be given at least 28 days before the date the termination is specified to be effectiveA notice under section 47, 58 or 144 to terminate a tenancy for a fixed term shall be given at least 60 days before the expiration date specified in the tenancy agreement, to be effective on that expiration date. A tenant may terminate a tenancy at the end of a period of the tenancy or at the end of the term of a tenancy for a fixed term by giving notice of termination to the landlord in accordance with section 44. A tenant’s notice to terminate a tenancy is void if it is given, (a) at the time the tenancy agreement is entered into; or (b) as a condition of entering into the tenancy agreement. Germany
- Rule
- BGB § 573c
- The tenant's period is the same for every residential tenancy; the extra three-month steps after five and eight years apply only to the landlord. Temporary-use housing may agree a shorter period.
- Section 573c does not state a form. Business premises and other leases have different periods under § 580a, which is not tabulated here.
Die Kündigung ist spätestens am dritten Werktag eines Kalendermonats zum Ablauf des übernächsten Monats zulässig.Eine zum Nachteil des Mieters von Absatz 1 oder 3 abweichende Vereinbarung ist unwirksam. Spain
- Rule
- Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos art. 11
- The statute calls this "desistimiento", the tenant's right to withdraw from the contract. It starts once the minimum stay has passed.
- The article states no form for the notice. Article 10 separately lets the tenant refuse the automatic yearly extension by giving two months' notice before the term ends.
El arrendatario podrá desistir del contrato de arrendamiento, una vez que hayan transcurrido al menos seis meses, siempre que se lo comunique al arrendador con una antelación mínima de treinta días.En los contratos de arrendamiento de vivienda temporal el arrendatario podrá desistir del contrato una vez que haya transcurrido al menos un mes desde su formalización, siempre que se lo comunique al arrendador con una antelación mínima de diez días.el desistimiento del arrendatario así ejercido no generará derecho de indemnización en favor del arrendador Netherlands
- Rule
- BW 7 art. 271
- Applies to either party for an open-ended tenancy, and to a fixed-term tenancy on a rent-payment day before the end of the fixed term. A notice that breaks the form or period rules for the tenant still counts as given for the prescribed day.
- The landlord's notice has stricter rules (stated grounds, a period that lengthens with years of occupation); these are not tabulated.
Een voor onbepaalde tijd aangegane of voor onbepaalde tijd verlengde huur kan door elk van beide partijen worden opgezegd tegen een voor de betaling van de huurprijs overeengekomen dag.zij kan door elk van beide partijen worden opgezegd tegen een voor de betaling van de huurprijs overeengekomen dag, niet vallend voor het verstrijken van de bepaalde tijdDe opzegging moet geschieden bij exploot of bij aangetekende brief.a. bij opzegging door de huurder: een termijn gelijk aan de tijd die tussen twee opvolgende voor betaling van de huurprijs overeengekomen dagen verstrijkt, doch niet korter dan een maand en niet langer dan drie maandenElk beding waarbij in strijd met lid 6 onder a een langere opzegtermijn of waarbij in strijd met lid 6 onder b een kortere opzegtermijn wordt overeengekomen of waarbij van andere bepalingen van dit artikel wordt afgeweken, is nietig. Norway
- Rule
- Husleieloven §§ 9-4 and 9-6
- Section 9-4 lets the tenant end an open-ended tenancy unless the parties have agreed otherwise. A fixed-term tenancy can be ended early only if that was agreed (§ 9-2), which is not tabulated.
- The form rules in § 9-7 apply to the landlord's notice, not the tenant's. For commercial premises let by the day, the period is one day.
Er ikke annet avtalt, kan tidsubestemt leieavtale sies opp av leieren. Oppsigelsesfristen skal være tre måneder til opphør ved utløpet av en kalendermåned.For leieavtale om enkelt beboelsesrom der leieren etter avtalen har adgang til en annens bolig, skal oppsigelsesfristen være én måned.Bestemmelsene i denne paragraf kan fravikes i avtale. Sweden
- Rule
- Jordabalken 12 kap. 4 §
- The section applies to either party. For a fixed-term flat lease longer than three months, notice must be given three months ahead if no longer period has been agreed; shorter fixed terms and commercial premises have different periods.
- The section does not state a form for the notice. A tenant's separate right to end the lease because of a defect in the flat is in other sections and is not tabulated.
Hyresavtal som gäller för obestämd tid kan, om inte längre uppsägningstid har avtalats, sägas upp för att upphöra att gällavid det månadsskifte som inträffar närmast efter tre månader från uppsägningen, när avtalet avser en bostadslägenhettre månader i förväg om hyrestiden är längre än tre månader och det är fråga om en bostadslägenhet Countries not in this table yet
The United States, United Kingdom, Australia, France and Japan are not in the table: the ingested acts for those countries have no rule stating the notice a tenant must give (the Japanese 借地借家法 § 27 covers only the landlord's notice, and the Civil Code on leases is not ingested), and the table does not infer one.
How this table was built
Every row is taken from the official, consolidated text of the statute, which LawAsked loads from each government’s legislation service.
Each figure is tied to a passage quoted word for word from that text. When the page is served, it checks that every quoted passage is still in the current text of a law that is in force; if a law is amended and its wording changes, that row is hidden until a person reviews it again.
The table shows the statutory minimum only. Collective agreements, awards and individual contracts often give more than the statute, and some countries let a collective agreement set different terms.
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LawAsked, “Notice a tenant must give to move out, by country”, https://lawasked.com/guides/tenant-notice-to-end-tenancy (reviewed October 25, 2026).
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