Delaware 5-Day Nonpayment Demand

Delaware 5-Day Demand for Payment of Rent and Notice of Termination Packet

Download a Delaware 5-Day Demand for Payment of Rent and Notice of Termination packet for residential nonpayment under 25 Del. C. § 5502(a), sometimes called a Delaware 5-day notice to pay or quit. This attorney-reviewed forms packet includes a PublicLegal-authored demand, editable landlord companions, and the official Right to Representation materials in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole.

4 editable Word files + 3 official PDFs
Attorney-reviewed forms plus official RTR materials
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What you receive for Delaware

This Delaware nonpayment packet helps complete the PublicLegal-authored 5-Day Demand, serve the required Right to Representation materials, document § 5113 service, count the § 5112 business-day cure period, track payment, and preserve records before any JP Court summary possession filing.

PublicLegal-authored demand

The tenant-facing 5-Day Demand is built around 25 Del. C. § 5502(a). It is not an official court form; the official files in this packet are the Right to Representation PDFs.

Editable self-help files

Download the editable Word files, customize the notice materials on your own device, and use the included PDFs for official companion-form reference and recordkeeping.

RTR service and deadline focus

Use the companions to serve the completed demand with the required RTR materials, choose the tenant’s language version, document § 5113 service, and count at least five business days under § 5112.

Included Delaware 5-Day Demand packet files

This product includes seven files: the Delaware 5-Day Demand for Payment of Rent and Notice of Termination in Word, Delaware Notice Instructions in Word, Notice Service, Payment, and Prefiling Record in Word, #10 Mailing Envelope in Word, and official Right to Representation PDF notices in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole.

Serve the completed Delaware 5-Day Demand plus the required Right to Representation materials; serve the tenant’s language version, or all three RTR PDFs if unsure. Keep the Instructions, Service/Payment/Prefiling Record, and Envelope for the landlord file.

Delaware 5-Day Demand for Payment of Rent and Notice of Termination PublicLegal-authored tenant-facing § 5502(a) demand and termination notice; not an official court form Word
Delaware Notice Instructions Delaware usage, § 5112 time-counting, § 5113 service, RTR, diversion, lead, and court-stage instructions Word
Notice Service, Payment, and Prefiling Record Landlord record for service, RTR language selection, payment, deadline, and prefiling checks Word
#10 Mailing Envelope #10 envelope companion for permitted mailing methods and records Word
Right to Representation Notice — English Official Coordinator-published Right to Representation notice in English; serve with the 5-Day Demand (required), choosing the tenant’s language version PDF
Right to Representation Notice — Spanish Official Coordinator-published Right to Representation notice in Spanish; serve with the 5-Day Demand (required), choosing the tenant’s language version PDF
Right to Representation Notice — Haitian Creole Official Coordinator-published Right to Representation notice in Haitian Creole; serve with the 5-Day Demand (required), choosing the tenant’s language version PDF

Self-help notice overview

Using a Delaware 5-Day Demand for Payment of Rent and Notice of Termination

A Delaware 5-Day Demand for Payment of Rent and Notice of Termination is the written nonpayment demand used before a possible residential summary possession case under 25 Del. C. § 5502(a). This packet’s demand is PublicLegal-authored and attorney-reviewed at the form level; it is not a Delaware Judiciary form.

The Delaware-specific trap is the required Right to Representation attachment. Section 5606 requires Coordinator-approved RTR materials with every § 5502 notice. This packet includes the official English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole versions so the landlord can serve the language or languages the tenant can understand, or all three when uncertain.

The minimum five-day period runs from when the notice is given or sent, not tenant receipt. Under § 5112, exclude the service day and, because the period is under seven days, exclude intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays; a landlord may state a longer period, but five business days is the floor. A notice is not an eviction order; possession changes only through JP Court process and lawful execution.

About this Delaware 5-Day Demand packet

This page highlights the current seven-file Delaware packet: four editable PublicLegal Word files plus three official Coordinator Right to Representation PDFs. The state-specific guidance below explains PublicLegal-authored-notice scope, RTR service, § 5113 service options, § 5112 business-day counting, § 5501(d) late-charge cautions, diversion, lead-paint filing documentation, JP Court forms and fees, and no-self-help limits before checkout.

Delaware notice requirements and usage notes

The complete Delaware 5-Day Demand packet is available immediately after checkout. Use the state-specific guidance below to serve the PublicLegal-authored demand with the required official Right to Representation materials, document § 5113 service, count at least the § 5112 minimum business-day period, and preserve payment, diversion, lead, fee, and JP Court filing records before serving or filing.

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Last reviewed June 2026

ILRG editorial team reviewed this page against the sources linked here.

Primary sources

Primary Delaware statutory sources, Justice of the Peace Court landlord/tenant resources, and Right to Representation resources are linked for self-help research. Confirm the lease, rent ledger, § 5501(d) late-charge timing, § 5113 service method, § 5112 deadline count, current Right to Representation materials, Eviction Diversion Program requirements, lead-paint filing documentation, court forms, fees, and local JP Court practice before serving or filing.

Quick answer

Use this Delaware residential nonpayment packet when rent is due and unpaid and the landlord needs a § 5502(a) 5-Day Demand for Payment of Rent and Notice of Termination, sometimes called a Delaware 5-day notice to pay or quit. The tenant-facing demand is PublicLegal-authored, not an official court form. Serve the completed demand with the official Coordinator Right to Representation materials in the language or languages the tenant can understand.

Serve the completed 5-Day Demand plus the official Right to Representation materials. Choose the tenant’s language version or versions, or serve all three when unsure. Keep the instructions, service/payment/prefiling record, and envelope as landlord companion files.

Product type Delaware residential nonpayment 5-Day Demand + Notice of Termination packet — PublicLegal-authored notice plus official Right to Representation materials

Main use Residential nonpayment when rent is due and unpaid under 25 Del. C. § 5502(a)

Included 4 editable Word companions + 3 official Right to Representation PDFs (7 files)

Service method Any method allowed by § 5113: personal, adult resident, registered/certified or first-class with certificate of mailing to the leased premises, posting only with mailing, or special process-server

Cure period Not less than 5 days from the date the notice is given or sent, counted under § 5112; exclude the service day and intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays

RTR requirement Coordinator-approved materials are required with every § 5502 notice under § 5606, in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole

Filing forms JP Civil Form No. 1 summary possession complaint; Form 50 applies to artificial entities not represented by counsel

Filing fee Historically around $45 for Landlord/Tenant filing and $40 for service of writ of summary possession; confirm current fees and surcharges with the JP Court

After notice Separate JP Court summary possession action; mandatory Eviction Diversion Program participation under § 5702A; lead-paint documentation at filing under § 5704A / Chapter 54

Before you use this notice

Confirm this is ordinary Delaware residential nonpayment after rent is due and unpaid, not commercial property, public/subsidized/federal-overlay housing, manufactured-home community special issues, bankruptcy, SCRA or military issues, retaliation, habitability or rent-withholding disputes, domestic-violence-sensitive facts, reasonable accommodation, or another special track without Delaware counsel review.
Do not call the 5-Day Demand an official court form. Delaware has no statewide official nonpayment-notice form; this packet’s 5-Day Demand is a PublicLegal-authored form approved at the document level by counsel.
Serve the completed 5-Day Demand with the official Coordinator Right to Representation materials. Serve the tenant’s language version or versions; if the tenant’s language is uncertain, serve English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole.
Use a § 5113 service method and document it: personal, adult resident, registered/certified mail or first-class with certificate of mailing to the leased premises, posting only with mailing, or special process-server method where appropriate.
Before serving, confirm the rent due date, any lease grace period, and § 5501(d). Delaware limits late charges to 5% of monthly rent, bars imposing a late charge within five days of the agreed payment time, and — if the landlord does not maintain an office or other permanent place for rent payment in the county where the rental unit is located — extends the agreed payment time by three days. This rent-timing three-day rule is separate from any mailed-service timing buffer in the timing section.
Count at least 5 days from when the notice is given or sent under § 5112. Exclude the service day, and because the period is under 7 days, exclude intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. The landlord may state a longer period, but five business days is the floor.
Before filing, confirm current JP Court filing forms, fees, service charges, Eviction Diversion Program steps, lead-paint filing documentation under § 5704A / Chapter 54, and the § 5705 hearing-service window with the court.

PublicLegal-authored demand plus official RTR attachments

Delaware § 5502(a) requires the landlord to give a demand for rent and notice of termination, but Delaware does not publish a statewide official court nonpayment-notice form. The 5-Day Demand in this packet is therefore a PublicLegal-authored, attorney-reviewed form, not a Delaware Judiciary form.

The official documents in this packet are the Coordinator-published Right to Representation tenant notices in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole. Those RTR materials must be served with every § 5502 notice under § 5606.

Serve these; keep those

Serve the completed Delaware 5-Day Demand for Payment of Rent and Notice of Termination.
Serve the Right to Representation notice in the language or languages the tenant can understand; when uncertain, serve English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole.
Keep the Delaware Notice Instructions, Notice Service, Payment, and Prefiling Record, and #10 Mailing Envelope as landlord companion files for completion, proof, mailing, payment, and prefiling records.

Timing, service, and court-stage separation

Section 5502(a) gives the tenant not less than 5 days from the date the notice is given or sent to pay before the rental agreement terminates; a longer period may be stated, but five business days is the minimum floor.
Section 5112 controls the count: exclude the service day, and for periods under 7 days, exclude intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays.
Mailed-service caution. If you serve the notice by mail, build in extra time before treating the cure period as expired. Delaware court practice may add time to a deadline that runs from service by mail, and § 5502’s period runs from when the notice is “given or sent.” To avoid filing too early after a mailed notice, add a conservative buffer or confirm the exact deadline with the Justice of the Peace Court or Delaware counsel before filing.
If payment is not made after proper service and the full period, the next step is a separate JP Court summary possession action. Court-stage materials such as JP Civil Form No. 1, Form 50 for artificial entities where applicable, diversion, lead documentation, hearing service, judgment, writ, and lockout are separate from this prefiling packet.

Payment acceptance and diversion records

Payment-acceptance caution. If the tenant pays all rent due, do not accept payment casually if you intend to preserve a pending or future nonpayment claim. Under § 5502(c)–(d), accepting full rent without a written reservation of rights can prevent the landlord from starting before filing or maintaining after filing a nonpayment action.
After filing a residential summary possession complaint, the landlord must participate in Delaware’s Eviction Diversion Program and file the Landlord’s Affidavit of Participation at least five days before the hearing under § 5702A. Failure to participate and timely file the affidavit may result in dismissal or continuance.

What happens after service

If the tenant does not pay after proper service and the full § 5112-counted period, the landlord still needs the Delaware Justice of the Peace Court summary possession process. Check JP Civil Form No. 1, any Form 50 entity-representation issue, current filing and service fees, mandatory Eviction Diversion Program participation under § 5702A, the Landlord’s Affidavit of Participation timing, lead-paint documentation under § 5704A / Chapter 54, and § 5705 hearing-service timing before filing or acting.

State-specific caution

Do not describe the 5-Day Demand as an official court form, do not omit the official Right to Representation materials, do not count from tenant receipt instead of when the notice is given or sent, do not count weekends/holidays inside the under-7-day period, do not import other-state court forms or filing gates, and do not treat the notice as a judgment, writ, lockout authorization, utility-shutoff authorization, or legal advice.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Delaware 5-Day Demands for Nonpayment

When can a Delaware landlord serve a 5-day nonpayment notice?

A Delaware landlord may serve a 5-Day Demand for Payment of Rent and Notice of Termination after rent is due and unpaid under 25 Del. C. § 5502(a). Check the lease, grace periods, payment history, and any federal or subsidized-housing overlay before serving.

How are the five days counted?

Count from when the notice is given or sent, not from tenant receipt. Under § 5112, exclude the day of service, and because the period is less than 7 days, exclude intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. That makes the Delaware 5-day period a business-day count. If you serve by mail, build in extra time or confirm the deadline with the court or counsel before filing, because a mailed-service buffer may apply.

Is the Right to Representation notice required?

Yes. Section 5606 requires Coordinator-approved Right to Representation materials with every § 5502 notice. Serve the language version or versions the tenant can understand; when the tenant’s language is uncertain, serve the English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole versions included in this packet.

What languages are included?

The packet includes the official Coordinator-published Right to Representation notices in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole, plus the PublicLegal-authored Delaware 5-Day Demand and landlord companion Word files.

Is this 5-Day Demand an official court form?

No. Delaware does not publish a statewide official court form for the § 5502(a) nonpayment demand. The 5-Day Demand is a PublicLegal-authored, attorney-reviewed form. The official items in this packet are the Coordinator-published Right to Representation PDF materials.

Does this packet complete the eviction?

No. This is a prefiling demand and notice packet. If the matter is not cured after proper service and the full period, possession still requires a separate Delaware Justice of the Peace Court summary possession action and lawful execution; do not use lockouts, utility shutoffs, access denial, or property removal.

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