A Louisiana rental agreement is governed by the Civil Code rather than by a landlord and tenant act, and the difference shows up most sharply in the periodic, month-to-month case. Where a tenant stays past a term and the lessor allows it, Louisiana's rules on reconduction can continue the lease by operation of law. That is not a holdover clause you drafted; it is the Code deciding, and the resulting terms may not be the ones you wanted.
Reconduction, and why it catches people
When a lessee remains in possession after the term and the lessor does not object within the period the Code allows, the lease is reconducted, continuing on terms the Code sets rather than the ones the parties would have chosen. Landlords used to a holdover clause governing the outcome find it does not. If you do not want the tenancy to continue, act within the period rather than letting silence decide.
Ending a month-to-month lease
A lease with no fixed term, or one that has been reconducted, is ended by notice given within the period the Code sets according to how rent is paid. The period is short by comparison with many states, which cuts both ways: you can recover the property relatively quickly, and so can the tenant leave. State it in the document so nobody is reasoning from another state's default.
The vocabulary is the Code's
Lessor and lessee, the thing leased, dissolution rather than termination. Using the Code's terms keeps the document consistent with the law that will interpret it. A Louisiana agreement written in common law language invites an argument about which body of rules the parties intended, which is an argument nobody wants to have about a month-to-month let.
Deposits are statutory, separately
Louisiana addresses deposit return by statute rather than leaving it to the Code alone, with consequences for a return that is late or unitemised. That applies to a periodic arrangement exactly as to a fixed term, and the record that makes a deduction defensible is the same: a dated inventory with photographs at both ends.
Questions people ask about louisiana rental agreement
What is reconduction?
The Civil Code's rule continuing a lease where the lessee stays past the term and the lessor allows it, on terms the Code sets rather than the parties.
How much notice ends a Louisiana month-to-month lease?
The Code sets it by reference to how rent is paid, and it is shorter than many states' defaults. Take the current period from the Code.
Can a holdover clause override reconduction?
Do not assume so. Louisiana is civil law and the codal rules are not displaced as readily as a common law template assumes. Take local advice on the template once.