Notice & Demand: templates and forms

Decree no. 2017-1820 of 29 December 2017 publishes free model dismissal letters on Légifrance, whose outline this document follows. It is the letter by which a French employer notifies an employee of dismissal for personal reasons (misconduct, serious or gross misconduct, professional inadequacy) in mainland France or an overseas department other than Mayotte: precise reasons, notice, suspension, end-of-contract documents and the request for details (articles L. 1232-6 and R. 1232-13 of the Labour Code). Sent by registered post with proof of receipt, at least two working days after the meeting and, for misconduct, within one month. In French.

The landlord's formal reminder to a tenant in Austria who is behind with the rent: the amounts owed for each month, the total, a deadline and the account. Under the Austrian Tenancy Act (MRG) a court notice to quit for arrears (§ 30 Abs 2 Z 1 MRG), like ending the lease under § 1118 of the Austrian Civil Code (ABGB), requires a reminder after the rent fell due that states the arrears specifically. You choose which step follows if the tenant does not pay. The court notice itself is not a letter but is filed at the district court — this is the reminder that must come first. In German.

For closing a current account or a savings account at a French bank. If you are moving to another bank, its free account-switching service (aide à la mobilité bancaire) can do it for you. Otherwise this letter, in French under French law, asks for the account to be closed and the card, chequebook and overdraft ended, the balance transferred to the account you choose and a closing statement sent. Closing is free (article L. 312-1-7 of the French Monetary and Financial Code). Send it by registered post or hand it in at the branch.

For someone in Spain who owes money to a bank, a lender, a utility or a debt collector and wants to offer a smaller lump sum (quita) or instalments (espera) to close the debt. The letter states the amount claimed and the amount offered, the schedule, and makes everything subject to written acceptance stating that, once paid, the debt is settled, with a receipt in full and removal from bad-debtor files. Nothing is paid before that acceptance. Send it by burofax or through the creditor's written channel. In Spanish.

The letter to the German tax office (Finanzamt) that returns a business to the small-business scheme of § 19 of the German VAT Act (UStG) after it had waived the scheme and charged VAT. The waiver binds for at least five calendar years and can then be revoked only from the start of a later calendar year. The letter names the year of the waiver and the year from which the scheme should apply again, and states that turnover stays within the €25,000 and €100,000 limits. Germany has no ‘VAT deregistration’: this is the route. In German.

The letter by which an employee in Cyprus resigns and ends the employment contract. It states the notice in weeks and the last working day, asks for the sums due with the final pay and for a certificate of employment, and leaves room for the employer to sign for receipt. Under the Termination of Employment Law the employee owes less notice than the employer: one week after 26 weeks' service, two after 52 and three after 260, and none during probation.

For a business or professional not paid by a business client in Italy: a letter in Italian listing the unpaid invoices, recalling the late-payment interest and the €40 owed under Legislative Decree 231/2002 without any request, setting a deadline to pay, and acting, as chosen, either as a formal notice under art. 1454 of the Italian Civil Code (at least 15 days, after which the contract is terminated by law) or as a notice of default that interrupts limitation. Sent by PEC to the company's address in INI-PEC, or by registered post.

For a private-sector employee in Italy proposing to the employer that the job end by mutual agreement, on a date and on the terms asked for. The letter is only the proposal: the agreement takes effect if it is then made, free of charge, through the Ministry of Labour's online procedure or signed in a protected setting such as the labour inspectorate or a union office. After a termination by agreement, NASpI unemployment benefit is due only in special cases. Sent by registered post, PEC or by hand. In Italian.

For a landlord in Italy whose tenant is not paying the rent: the formal demand to the tenant listing the unpaid months and the total, recalling that a delay of more than twenty days is a ground for termination (art. 5 of Italian Law no. 392 of 27 July 1978), and requiring payment within fifteen days (arts. 1219 and 1454 of the Italian Civil Code), with the warning that otherwise the lease will be treated as terminated and an eviction for arrears will be brought before the court. By registered post with proof of receipt to the rented home, or by hand. In Italian.

For a tenant in Italy with faults the landlord must fix — leaks, boiler, systems, damp — that are not being repaired: the formal demand describing the defects, setting a deadline for repairs (arts. 1575 and 1576 of the Italian Civil Code), announcing urgent repairs done by the tenant with a claim for reimbursement (art. 1577), and reserving a court-ordered rent reduction or termination, while the rent keeps being paid. Sent by registered post with proof of receipt, PEC if the landlord has one, or by hand. In Italian.

A German resignation letter (Eigenkündigung): ordinary notice ending your employment on the date you choose, or else on the next possible date, asking for confirmation of receipt, a full employment reference (qualifiziertes Arbeitszeugnis) and for remaining leave to be granted or paid out. Under § 623 of the German Civil Code (BGB), notice ending employment is valid only on paper signed by hand — e-mail, fax, scans and every other electronic form are void. In German, to print, sign and hand over with proof of delivery.

The notice of sale (Veräußerungsanzeige) by which a seller in Germany tells the vehicle registration office who the new keeper is: the buyer's name, date of birth and address, the vehicle, plate and VIN, the date and hour of handover, and confirmation that the registration certificate Parts I and II were handed over (§ 15 of the German Vehicle Registration Ordinance, FZV). The seller's motor vehicle tax ends only when it arrives (§ 5(5) KraftStG). Many registration offices also offer their own free form. In German, to print, sign and hand in on the day of sale.

A letter to the payee in Austria — gym, insurer, club, online shop or collection agency — revoking your SEPA direct debit mandate, still often called an Einziehungsauftrag in Austria. It gives the mandate reference, the creditor ID and your IBAN, forbids further debits once it is received and says how payment continues: you transfer the money yourself, the contract has ended, or you pay from another account. Revoking the mandate ends neither the contract nor a debt. A debit taken anyway is unauthorised, and your bank refunds it under the Austrian Payment Services Act (§§ 65, 67 ZaDiG 2018). In German.

A tenant's letter in Poland reporting defects the landlord is responsible for — failed heating, a leak, a broken boiler — setting a deadline for the repair and asking for a rent reduction while the defects last. The deadline is what later allows the tenant to have the repair done at the landlord's expense (art. 663 of the Civil Code); the notice also opens the way to ending the tenancy if the defects cannot be fixed.

When you leave of your own accord, the law wants written notice — not a conversation and not an email. This document puts it in the form Art. 326(1) of the Labour Code requires, states the notice period and names your last working day, so there is no argument about when the contract ends. The period is thirty days unless your contract says otherwise, and by law it cannot exceed three months.

For a landlord in France whose tenant owes rent or charges. The French letter lists the months owed and the total, sets a payment date, offers a payment plan and the free help available (ADIL, CAF, the housing solidarity fund), then states the next step: a formal demand for payment served by a commissaire de justice, then the lease's termination clause, six weeks after an unanswered demand, or two months where a lease signed before July 2023 says so. A first friendly reminder or a formal demand, as you choose. A copy can go to the guarantor.

Notice of resignation from a Polish employment contract, with no reason needed: which contract, what notice period and when it ends — a period counted in weeks ends on a Saturday, one counted in months on the last day of a month. The letter also asks for the certificate of employment on the last day and for leave to be settled. If both sides want to part sooner, they can agree an earlier date after notice is given.

The letter a tenant in Germany uses to object to a landlord's ordinary notice — for own use, for example — and to demand that the tenancy continue, because moving out would be an unjustifiable hardship for the tenant or the household (§ 574 of the German Civil Code, BGB): old age, illness, pregnancy, children at school or no affordable replacement housing. Since 1 January 2025 text form is enough (§ 574b BGB); the objection must reach the landlord no later than two months before the tenancy ends. The letter gives the reasons and does not accept the notice. In German.

The French labour ministry's site code.travail.gouv.fr offers a free model resignation letter. This document is a resignation letter for an employee on an open-ended contract (CDI) in mainland France or an overseas department other than Mayotte: it gives notice of resignation, refers to the notice period set by the collective agreement, the contract or custom, can ask to be released from working it, and asks for the end-of-employment documents. French law prescribes no form; send it by registered post with proof of receipt or hand it over against a signed receipt, to prove the day the notice starts. In French.

A resignation letter for an employee in Austria (Selbstkündigung): notice ending your employment with the notice period, or during the probation month, on the date you choose or else on the next possible date, asking for confirmation, a written reference (Dienstzeugnis), the final pay and pay in lieu of untaken leave. Austrian law prescribes no form, but many collective agreements (Kollektivverträge) require writing: print, sign and hand it over against a receipt. For white- and blue-collar workers; not for apprentices. In German.

A written demand by an employee or former employee in Cyprus to the employer for wages that have not been paid: the job, the salary, the unpaid periods and the amount owed, with seven days to pay into a bank account, the documents attached and a request for a written reply within 14 days. It warns that, if unpaid, a written complaint to the Department of Labour Relations under the Protection of Wages Law and a claim before the Labour Disputes Court will follow, or, above two years' wages, before the District Court, for which it is also the letter of claim the Civil Procedure Rules require. It is sent by registered post or by hand.

The declaration by which a managing director of an Austrian GmbH or FlexCo resigns under § 16a of the Austrian Limited Liability Companies Act (GmbHG) — at once for good cause, otherwise after 14 days or on a later date. The same letter goes to every shareholder; the other managing directors and any supervisory board chair receive a copy. With the request to file the end of the director's authority with the company register (Firmenbuch, § 17 GmbHG) and an acknowledgement of receipt, since receipt has to be proved. In German.

A landlord's ordinary notice in Germany ending a tenancy because the landlord, a family member or a member of the household needs the flat (§ 573(2) no. 2 of the German Civil Code, BGB). As § 573(3) BGB requires, the letter names the person who is to move in, their relationship to the landlord, where they live now and why they need the flat; it states the notice period by length of tenancy (three, six or nine months), objects to a tacit extension and tells the tenant about the right to object in text form (§ 574b BGB). Written form: print and sign by hand by every landlord. In German.

The written notice by which a tenant in Austria ends the lease of a flat under § 33 Abs 1 of the Austrian Tenancy Act (MRG): an open-ended lease on the agreed or else the statutory period (§ 560 ZPO), a fixed-term lease after its first year on three months to the end of a month (§ 29 Abs 2 MRG), or a lease outside the MRG altogether. It gives notice to the chosen date or else the next possible one, asks for a handover date and the deposit, can claim compensation for improvements (§ 10 MRG) and carries a receipt section. Signed by hand by every tenant, or with a qualified electronic signature — a plain e-mail is void. In German.