A pay-or-quit notice is the nonpayment-specific eviction notice: it demands that the tenant either pay the rent owed or move out within a statutory window — 3 days in some states, 14 in others. Whether paying inside the window actually stops the eviction, and how the days are counted, varies sharply by state.
§ I — What "pay-or-quit notice" means
A pay-or-quit notice (in various states a "notice to pay rent or quit," "demand for rent," or "pay or vacate" notice) is the written demand a landlord must serve when rent goes unpaid, before an eviction can be filed. It states the amount due and gives the tenant a statutory number of days to pay it or surrender the unit. In most states the demand is genuinely in the alternative — full payment inside the window cures the default and the tenancy continues. The traps are in the details: some states count calendar days while others exclude weekends and court holidays, some prescribe the notice's exact wording or form, some let the lease waive the notice entirely, and a few give no statutory cure right at all.
§ II — How pay-or-quit notice varies by state
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Massachusetts
Fourteen days, and the cure is generous: a lease tenant keeps the tenancy by paying rent, interest, and costs any time up to their court answer date — every time. Tenants at will get a 10-day cure unless they received a similar notice in the prior 12 months. M.G.L. c. 186, §§ 11–12.
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Florida
Three days excluding weekends and legal holidays, with the notice wording prescribed by statute — get the form wrong and the case gets dismissed. Paying in full within the window cures; partial payments after notice trigger their own procedure. Fla. Stat. § 83.56(3), (5).
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California
Three days excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and judicial holidays (CCP § 1161(2)); the notice must offer payment as an alternative, and full payment within the window defeats termination. Los Angeles adds an eviction threshold: no nonpayment case unless the arrears exceed one month of fair-market rent.
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New York
A written 14-day rent demand (RPAPL § 711(2)), preceded by the 5-day certified-mail late notice (RPL § 235-e(d)). Full payment before the hearing must be accepted and ends the proceeding. RPAPL § 731(4).
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Texas
Texas's 3-day notice to vacate is not a true pay-or-quit — the statute gives no right to stop the case by paying, unless the lease grants one, and the lease may also shorten or lengthen the 3 days. Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005.
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North Carolina
Ten days after demand — but only when the lease is silent on forfeiture; most leases set their own rule. Payment within the period prevents forfeiture, and tender of rent plus costs before judgment stops the case. N.C.G.S. §§ 42-3, 42-33.
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Georgia
Three business days for leases entered or renewed since July 1, 2024, with the notice posted in a sealed envelope on the door (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-50(c)–(d)). After the summons, tendering all rent plus the warrant cost within 7 days is a complete defense — accepted once per 12 months. § 44-7-52.
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Pennsylvania
Ten days by statute, but the lease may shorten or waive the notice, and most do. The durable protection is pay-and-stay: in a pure nonpayment case, paying arrears plus costs before the writ of possession executes renders it ineffective. 68 P.S. §§ 250.501, .503(c).
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Illinois
Five days, excluding the day of service, with the final day rolling past weekends and holidays (5 ILCS 70/1.11). Only FULL payment cures — the notice must say so verbatim — and partial payment counts only if the landlord agrees in writing. 735 ILCS 5/9-209. Chicago and suburban Cook County add pay-to-stay rights after filing.
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Ohio
Three or more days' notice to leave the premises (R.C. § 1923.04) — with no statewide right to cure by paying. Cleveland, Toledo, Cincinnati, Dayton, and other cities have pay-to-stay ordinances creating that defense locally.
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Michigan
A 7-day demand for possession (form DC 100a); the day of service is excluded, so filing starts day 8. Paying everything due within the 7 days defeats the ground, and paying the full judgment during the 10-day pre-writ window still saves the tenancy. MCL 554.134(2); 600.5714(1)(a).
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Washington
Fourteen days on the mandatory statutory form, which may demand only rent, utilities, and recurring lease charges — no other fees. Payment within the window defeats the case, and the notice cannot be waived by lease. RCW 59.12.030(3); 59.18.057.
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Arizona
Five calendar days — the statute defines "days" as calendar days, so weekends count. Tendering all past-due rent plus a written-lease late fee before filing reinstates the agreement; after filing, add attorney fees and costs. A.R.S. § 33-1368(B), (G).
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Virginia
Fourteen days since July 1, 2026 (previously five) — stale 5-day notices served after the change are ineffective. Landlords with more than four units must offer a payment plan for arrears of one month or less. Va. Code § 55.1-1245(F)–(G).
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New Jersey
No pre-filing rent demand is required for ordinary nonpayment (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.2) — but paying all rent and costs on or before trial day forces dismissal (2A:18-55), and payment within 3 business days after lockout restores possession. 2A:42-10.16a.
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Colorado
Ten days (five for exempt small-landlord leases that disclose it). Colorado's cure is the strongest anywhere: the landlord must accept full payment until the judge enters judgment, and timely payment dismisses the case with prejudice. C.R.S. §§ 13-40-104, -115(4).
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Tennessee
Fourteen days to remedy in both regimes — URLTA counties (§ 66-28-505) and the rest of the state (§ 66-7-109). URLTA leases may waive the notice only in 12-point bold or larger type. § 66-28-505(b).
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Minnesota
Fourteen days' written notice before filing, added January 1, 2024 (Minn. Stat. § 504B.321 subd. 1a); a missing notice means dismissal plus expungement. Tenants can also redeem any time before possession is delivered. § 504B.291.
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Maryland
Maryland skips the pay-or-quit form: a 10-day notice of intent to file precedes the failure-to-pay-rent case, and the tenant's right of redemption — tendering everything due plus costs before the eviction executes — runs until the very end, unless 3 judgments (4 in Baltimore City) accrued in 12 months. Md. Real Prop. § 8-401.
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Indiana
Ten days to pay in full or vacate (IC 32-31-1-6), with the statutory form at § 32-31-1-7 — but the notice applies "unless the parties otherwise agreed," so many Indiana leases waive it.