A Tenant with a Lease is one who signs a lease to rent a particular apartment for a specified time period. A lease, or rental contract between the landlord (lessor) and the tenant (lessee), is a written document which legally binds both parties. The tenant is obligated to pay a stated rent at a given interval, usually monthly, in return for a safe and habitable apartment.

If you are a tenant with a lease, your landlord may attempt to evict you if you have not been paying your rent, or if have caused excessive damage to the apartment or you have violated terms of your lease (e.g., subletting or pets without permission).
Your landlord must first send you a "Notice to Quit." The terms of your lease will dictate the notice required. Typically, if you are being evicted for non-payment of rent, you must receive a 14-day notice by law, and for other cause eviction, notice as specified in the lease, typically a 7-day notice.

A Tenant - at - Will is one who occupies a rented premises without a lease but pays rent periodically (typically monthly). The agreement for the Tenancy- at-Will may be either written or verbal. Either the landlord or tenant may terminate this arrangement by giving written notice 30 days or one full rental period in advance, whichever is longer. No reason is required to terminate, but there must be reason to evict. The fact that your landlord has terminated your tenancy-at-will, however, constitutes sufficient reason.. If rent is paid the first of each month, notice should be given prior to the first day of the month.

A Rooming or Boarding House Tenancy is different from the two other types of tenancies. Termination notices vary depending on the length of tenancy:

Length Notice Required
30 days None
30-90 days 7 days
3 months 30 days

The landlord is only required to give a 7-day notice if tenant is disorderly or bothersome to other tenants OR if tenant pays weekly. After three months of tenancy, the rooming house tenant is considered a tenant at will and afforded all rights of a tenant at will.