Notice to Vacate — Landlord Chile (Aviso de Desahucio Arrendador)

Notice to Vacate — Landlord Chile (Aviso de Desahucio Arrendador) is the formal written instrument by which a landlord (arrendador) notifies a residential tenant (arrendatario) of the termination of the lease contract under Ley N° 18.101 de 1982 Article 3 bis, as substantially amended by Ley N° 21.461 of 2022 — commonly known as the Ley de Arrendamiento Rápido — and demands restitution of the leased property within the legally prescribed period. The notice must be served through the Juzgado de Letras with civil jurisdiction (competencia civil) over the commune where the property is located, in accordance with the procedural framework established by the Código de Procedimiento Civil (CPC) and the special rules of Ley N° 18.101.

Ley N° 18.101, first enacted on 29 January 1982 and published in the Diario Oficial, governs urban residential leases (arriendos de inmuebles urbanos para habitación) in Chile. Article 3 bis — introduced through successive amendments including Ley N° 19.866 of 2003 and fundamentally restructured by Ley N° 21.461 of 2022 — establishes the specific procedure for desahucio (termination notice) when the landlord seeks to end an indefinite-term lease (contrato de arrendamiento de duración indefinida) or a fixed-term lease that has converted to indefinite duration upon expiration without formal renewal. The procedure applies to urban properties with monthly rent not exceeding the threshold established in Article 1 of Ley N° 18.101, distinguishing urban residential leases from rural leases governed by the Código Civil Article 1916 et seq. and commercial leases under the general rules of the Código de Comercio.

Ley N° 21.461 of 2022 — enacted 10 June 2022 and published in the Diario Oficial — introduced critical reforms to Ley N° 18.101 aimed at accelerating eviction procedures and reducing the average time to recover leased properties in Chile, which under the previous framework could extend twelve to eighteen months through ordinary civil procedures. The 2022 reform established a specialized fast-track procedure (procedimiento especial de arrendamiento) before Juzgados de Letras, mandatory use of the Unidad de Arrendamiento (UA) for monetary calculations, and specific notification requirements that differentiate desahucio (termination notice) from the subsequent restitution demand (demanda de restitución).

The Ministerio de Vivienda y Urbanismo (MINVU) and the Servicio Nacional del Consumidor (SERNAC) both maintain public guidance on tenant and landlord rights under Ley N° 18.101, recognizing residential leases as a priority housing policy concern. Chile's rental housing market — regulated through the Cámara Chilena de la Construcción (CChC) market indices — encompasses approximately 1.4 million renting households concentrated in the Región Metropolitana de Santiago, Valparaíso, and Biobío, making the legal framework for lease termination one of the most frequently invoked areas of property law in the country.

The desahucio notice under Ley N° 18.101 Article 3 bis is distinct from the extrajudicial demand letter (carta de mora) and from the formal judicial restitution claim (demanda de restitución de inmueble arrendado). The notice triggers a legally mandated notice period — two months for indefinite-term leases under Ley N° 21.461 — during which the tenant retains the right to occupancy provided rent and expenses are current. Failure to comply with the notice requirements established in Article 3 bis — including judicial notification and proper identification of the property and parties — renders the desahucio without legal effect and requires restarting the procedure from the beginning before the competent Juzgado de Letras.

A Notice to Vacate — Landlord Chile is required under Ley N° 18.101 Article 3 bis whenever a landlord wishes to terminate a residential lease and recover the property at the expiration of the notice period, for any of the following circumstances recognized by Chilean tenancy law.

Indefinite-term lease termination is the most common scenario: when a fixed-term lease contract has expired without renewal and the tenant continues occupying the property, or when the original lease was established without a fixed term, the landlord must issue the desahucio notice with the two-month advance period established by Ley N° 21.461 of 2022. The Juzgado de Letras with civil jurisdiction must serve the notice on the tenant — the landlord cannot self-serve the desahucio, as Articles 3 bis and 8 of Ley N° 18.101 require judicial notification to protect the tenant's due process rights.

Property owners who need to recover leased properties for personal occupancy (uso propio del propietario) or for occupancy by direct family members (cónyuge, conviviente civil, hijos, ascendientes) must use the desahucio notice procedure under Ley N° 18.101 Article 3 bis with the two-month notice period. The 2022 Ley N° 21.461 reform eliminated the requirement for the landlord to demonstrate specific need (acreditar necesidad calificada), simplifying the owner-occupancy route that previously required additional documentation before the Juzgado de Letras.

Landlords of properties subject to demolition orders (órdenes de demolición) issued by the Dirección de Obras Municipales (DOM) of the corresponding Municipalidad, urban renovation programs managed by MINVU's Programa de Regeneración Urbana, or expropriation proceedings by the Fisco de Chile or Municipalidades under Decreto Ley N° 2.186 must serve the desahucio notice as the first procedural step before pursuing formal restitution.

Landlords who have received valid notice of rent arrears — including those who have already sent the carta de mora to the Juzgado — and whose tenants remain in default after the cure period should serve the desahucio notice simultaneously with or immediately after the restitution demand to maximize procedural efficiency under the expedited timeline introduced by Ley N° 21.461 of 2022. The Corporación de Asistencia Judicial (CAJ) and private abogados specializing in derecho arrendaticio advise that simultaneous service of both notices before the Juzgado de Letras minimizes delays in contested eviction proceedings.

A valid Notice to Vacate — Landlord Chile under Ley N° 18.101 Article 3 bis must contain the following essential elements to initiate the legal procedure for property recovery before the Juzgado de Letras with civil jurisdiction:

Landlord Identification: Full legal name, RUT number (Rol Único Tributario issued by the Servicio de Impuestos Internos — SII), domicile, and contact details of the arrendador. For corporate landlords — SpA, SRL, S.A., or other legal entities — include the razón social, RUT, legal representative name and RUT, and the power of attorney (mandato o poder) under which the representative acts. Proof of ownership (acreditación de dominio) is typically required by the Juzgado de Letras, evidenced by a recent certificate (certificado de dominio vigente) issued by the Conservador de Bienes Raíces of the corresponding jurisdiction — valid for sixty days under standard judicial practice.

Tenant Identification: Full legal name, RUT number, and last known domicile of the arrendatario. If the lease contract was executed with multiple tenants (cotitulares del contrato), all must be identified and the notice must be served on each. For tenants residing in the leased property, the address of the property itself constitutes the valid service address under CPC Article 44 et seq.

Property Description: Full address of the leased property — street name, number, apartment or office number if applicable, commune (comuna), city, and región. For properties with a Rol de Avalúo registered with the Servicio de Impuestos Internos (SII), include the rol number. Indicate the property type (casa, departamento, pieza, local) and any specific descriptors in the lease contract.

Lease Contract Reference: Date of execution of the lease contract (fecha de celebración del contrato), term (plazo), monthly rent amount (monto de la renta mensual) in Chilean Pesos (CLP) or Unidades de Fomento (UF) as established in the contract, and whether the contract was executed before a Notario Público (escritura pública or instrumento privado protocolizado) or is a private instrument (instrumento privado simple). Reference to the specific article of Ley N° 18.101 governing the type of contract is required.

Legal Grounds for Termination: Express citation of Ley N° 18.101 Article 3 bis as the legal basis for the desahucio, specifying whether the termination is based on: expiration of the fixed term (vencimiento del plazo); conversion to indefinite term (contrato que se tornó indefinido); owner-occupancy need (necesidad de uso propio); property demolition or expropriation; or any other ground recognized by Ley N° 18.101 as amended by Ley N° 21.461 of 2022. The Juzgado de Letras requires precise legal citation to validate the procedural basis of the notice.

Notice Period: The legally mandated advance notice period under Ley N° 21.461 — two calendar months (dos meses corridos) for indefinite-term residential leases from the date of judicial notification. The specific date by which the tenant must vacate (fecha de restitución del inmueble) must be stated in the notice. Under Ley N° 18.101 Article 3 bis inciso 2°, the tenant has the right to extend the notice period by an additional two months by depositing two months' rent before the Juzgado de Letras within the first ten days after notification.

Rent and Expense Status: Current state of the tenant's payment obligations — whether rent (renta) and shared expenses (gastos comunes) are current or in arrears. If the tenant is in arrears, the outstanding amount must be specified along with the months to which it corresponds, as this information supports both the desahucio procedure and any simultaneous restitution demand under Ley N° 18.101 Article 7.

Judicial Notification Request: The formal petition to the Juzgado de Letras with civil jurisdiction to receive, process, and serve the desahucio notice on the tenant in accordance with Ley N° 18.101 Article 3 bis and Articles 44 through 46 of the Código de Procedimiento Civil. The filing must include the landlord's signature (or authorized representative's), identification, proof of property ownership, and a copy of the lease contract — requirements standard across Juzgados de Letras in Santiago, Valparaíso, Concepción, and other Chilean jurisdictions.

Forms-legal.com provides this Notice to Vacate Chile template as a reference document for property owners initiating the lease termination procedure under Ley N° 18.101 and Ley N° 21.461 of 2022. Chilean property disputes involve specific procedural deadlines and judicial filing requirements — landlords should consult with an abogado specializing in derecho arrendaticio before initiating formal proceedings before the Juzgado de Letras. Los usuarios de forms-legal.com pueden descargar este documento de forma gratuita en formato PDF o DOCX, completar los campos del formulario guiado y obtener un documento listo para firma.