How many days notice do I give a Kansas tenant who has not paid rent?

Three days, computed as three consecutive 24-hour periods, with two more days added if you mail the notice (K.S.A. 58-2564(b)). You also deliver a notice to leave at least three days before filing (61-3803).

How long after filing is the first court date in a Kansas eviction?

The summons sets the appearance time not less than three nor more than 14 days after it issues, and any trial follows within 14 days of that date (61-3805, 61-3807).

Can I change the locks on a Kansas tenant?

No. Under 58-2563 the tenant can recover possession or end the lease and recover up to one and one-half months' rent or the damages sustained, whichever is greater.

Kansas Eviction Steps and Timeline

In Kansas you give written notice first: three days to pay unpaid rent, or a notice ending the lease in 30 days if a breach is not fixed in 14. Before you file you also deliver a notice to leave at least three days ahead, and the two notices may be combined. The summons sets an appearance date 3 to 14 days out, any trial follows within 14 days of that date, and the writ of restitution must be executed within 14 days. You may not lock out the tenant or cut off essential services.

What notice does Kansas require for unpaid rent or a lease breach?

K.S.A. 58-2564(b) lets you terminate the rental agreement if rent is unpaid when due and the tenant fails to pay within three days after your written notice of nonpayment and your intention to terminate if the rent is not paid in that time. The three days are computed as three consecutive 24-hour periods. If the notice is delivered to the tenant, or to a person over 12 years of age living on the premises, or posted in a conspicuous place, the period starts at the time of delivery or posting. If the notice is mailed, the statute adds two days from the date of mailing.

For a material breach of the lease, or a breach of the tenant's health and safety duties, 58-2564(a) calls for a written notice that names the acts and omissions and says the agreement will end on a date not less than 30 days after the tenant receives it if the breach is not remedied in 14 days. The agreement ends on the date in the notice regardless of the rent-paying date, unless the breach can be fixed by repairs, payment of damages or otherwise and the tenant starts a good faith effort to fix it before that date. If the same or a similar breach happens after the 14-day period, you may give a notice that ends the agreement in not less than 30 days without a chance to fix it.

A month-to-month tenancy is ended by written notice that sets a termination date on a rent-paying date not less than 30 days after the other party receives it, and a week-to-week tenancy takes seven days (58-2570(a) and (b)).

What is the notice to leave premises?

Before you file, K.S.A. 61-3803 requires a notice to leave the premises, delivered at least three days before you start the lawsuit. You deliver it by leaving a copy with the tenant, leaving a copy with a person over 12 living on the premises, posting it in a conspicuous place if nobody is found, or mailing it to the premises address. The three days are three consecutive 24-hour periods that start when the notice is delivered, posted or mailed, with weekends and holidays counted, and two extra days are allowed when it is mailed. The statute says the notice may be combined with a notice under the residential landlord and tenant act, so one document can carry both the three-day pay demand and the notice to leave.

How does the court case work and how fast is it?

Kansas runs evictions under K.S.A. 61-3801 to 61-3808. The petition describes the premises and why you want possession, and may ask for the rent due or you can sue for the rent later (61-3804). The court sets the appearance time in the summons not less than three nor more than 14 days after the summons issues (61-3805). The tenant must appear in person or by counsel at that time or file a written answer by then (61-3806). If a trial is needed it must be held within 14 days after the appearance date, and the court may grant no continuance unless the tenant files a bond for the rent and damages that may accrue (61-3807).

A judgment in the eviction does not bar a later lawsuit by either side over claims it did not cover (61-3802). In an action for possession, K.S.A. 58-2570(d) also lets you ask the judge by motion for immediate possession. The judge may grant it if it is in the interest of justice and protects all parties, but only on your undertaking to the tenant, in an amount and with surety the court requires, for damages if the tenant wins.

Who removes the tenant and when?

After judgment for possession, the court issues a writ of restitution at your request, directed to a person authorized to serve process and named in the writ (61-3808). It must be executed within 14 days after that person receives it, and that person may use reasonable force needed to execute it. If an appeal stays the proceedings, the officer must stop, and if the premises were already restored to you, the tenant must be put back in possession.

Which mistakes cost a Kansas landlord time?

Forgetting the extra two days when you mail either notice. Both 58-2564(b) and 61-3803 add them.
Treating the three-day pay notice as the notice to leave. They are separate requirements, even though 61-3803 lets one document carry both.
Counting business days. The notice to leave counts weekends and holidays, as three 24-hour periods from delivery.
Skipping the chance to fix a curable breach. Without it, a notice under 58-2564(a) can cost you the right to rent that accrues after the tenant leaves, according to a case note on the statute.

Example a made-up landlord hand-delivers a combined three-day pay and leave notice to the tenant at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, November 9, 2026. Three consecutive 24-hour periods end at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, November 12, so the landlord may file after that time. If the summons issues that day, the appearance date falls between Sunday, November 15 and Thursday, November 26, 2026, and the court picks it. Had the notice been mailed on November 9, the filing date moves two days later.

What can a Kansas landlord never do?

Section 58-2563 says that if a landlord unlawfully removes or excludes the tenant, or willfully diminishes services by interrupting electric, gas, water or another essential service, the tenant may recover possession or end the rental agreement and, either way, recover up to one and one-half months' periodic rent or the damages sustained, whichever is greater. Use the court process.

How DoorKeeping handles it

DoorKeeping keeps each property's lease, rent ledger and the notices you send in one place, which is the paper trail a court asks for. You still serve the notice and file the case yourself. DoorKeeping gives general information, not legal advice. If a case is contested, or the tenant files an answer, talk to a local attorney.

Sources

K.S.A. 58-2564 (Material noncompliance by tenant; notice; nonpayment of rent), read Oct 30, 2026
K.S.A. 58-2563 and 58-2570 (Unlawful removal; termination of tenancy; immediate possession), read Oct 30, 2026
K.S.A. 61-3803 (Notice to leave premises), read Oct 30, 2026
K.S.A. 61-3805 and 61-3807 (Summons; trial), read Oct 30, 2026
K.S.A. 61-3808 (Writ of restitution), read Oct 30, 2026

Questions

How many days notice do I give a Kansas tenant who has not paid rent?: Three days, computed as three consecutive 24-hour periods, with two more days added if you mail the notice (K.S.A. 58-2564(b)). You also deliver a notice to leave at least three days before filing (61-3803).
How long after filing is the first court date in a Kansas eviction?: The summons sets the appearance time not less than three nor more than 14 days after it issues, and any trial follows within 14 days of that date (61-3805, 61-3807).
Can I change the locks on a Kansas tenant?: No. Under 58-2563 the tenant can recover possession or end the lease and recover up to one and one-half months' rent or the damages sustained, whichever is greater.