Breaking a lease early: your options and protections

Life changes: a new job, a relative who needs help, a paycheck that no longer stretches or a dangerous situation. If you signed a fixed-term leaseleaseA lease, or rental agreement, is the contract in which the owner or landlord gives you the right to live in and use a property for a set period of time in exchange for payment, usually rent. While the lease lasts you have possession, but the landlord still owns the property. The lease says how much you pay and when, who handles maintenance and how the agreement can end. Your rights as a tenant are usually spelled out in the lease and in your state and local laws. Before complaining to the landlord, it helps to read the lease and make sure you are also following the rules you agreed to.See the full definitionClose, leaving early has rules. This guide explains what the law generally says, how to negotiate your exit and the special protections for servicemembers and survivors of violence. The first step is always the same: USAGov recommends reading your lease carefully before getting outside help.¹

After the next rent due date: when a servicemember's SCRA termination takes effect, if rent is monthly

30 days⁴

Of rent, at most, after a survivor's notice in California

14 days⁹

That a spouse or dependent has to end the lease if the servicemember dies in service

1 year⁴

What the law generally says if you leave early

A fixed-term lease, for example for one year, obligates you to pay rent until it ends. If you leave early with no agreement and no legal protection, the landlord can claim the rent they lose and the charges the lease sets. How much depends on your lease and your state’s law.

The duty to mitigate. In some states the landlord cannot just sit back and charge you: they have to try to rent the home again. In Texas, for example, the law says the landlord has a duty to mitigate damages if you abandon the home in violation of the lease, and a clause that removes that duty is void.² Ask legal aid in your state how it works there.

What your lease may say. Look in your lease for:

• An early termination clause: some let you leave with a certain notice and a set payment.
• The notice you must give and how.
• Whether it allows subletting or transferring the lease to someone else.
• What happens to your security depositsecurity depositA security deposit is money you pay the landlord when you start renting as security that you will follow the lease: pay the rent and take care of the home. The money still belongs to you. The landlord holds it and, when you move out, must return it minus the charges the law allows, such as past-due rent or damage beyond normal wear and tear. You should not be charged for damage that was already there when you moved in. The maximum amount and the deadline to return it depend on your state's law and sometimes your city's.See the full definitionClose.

If you have a month-to-month leasemonth-to-month tenancyA month-to-month tenancy is a rental arrangement with no end date: it continues month after month as long as you pay the rent, until you or the landlord give notice to end it. It can be in writing, but it can also start without a contract, for example if you stay after your lease ends and the landlord accepts your payment. To end it, you must give the notice your state's law requires. In New York, for example, the notice alone does not let the landlord remove you: if you do not leave, the landlord has to go to court.See the full definitionClose, you generally just need to give the notice your state requires. The tenant rights by state tool shows the notice to end a month-to-month tenancy in your state.

Negotiating your exit with the landlord

Many early exits are settled by talking. A landlord also benefits from knowing early that you are leaving and getting the home rented quickly. Before you leave:

1. Give notice in writing and early. Explain the date you are leaving and why, if you want.
2. Propose a solution. For example, paying an extra month, keeping the home ready to show, helping find a new tenant or, if your lease allows, a sublet; in Texas, for example, you may not sublet without the landlord’s prior consent.² Our guide Subletting and adding a roommate explains how it works.
3. Get the agreement in writing and signed, with the move-out date, what you pay and what happens to the deposit.

If you leave without an agreement, keep proof: your notice, the dates and photos of how you left the home. Our guide Getting your security deposit back explains how to document your move-out.

Three ways to leave early

Safest

With an agreement

• You negotiate it with the landlord
• It is in writing and signed
• You know what you pay and what happens to the deposit

If it applies

With a legal protection

• The SCRA for servicemembers
• VAWA in federally assisted housing
• State laws for survivors of violence

More risk

No agreement, no protection

• You may owe rent and lease charges
• You may lose part of the deposit
• It can end in a lawsuit

If you do not have a legal protection, look for a written agreement first.

If you are a servicemember: the SCRA

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) lets you end the lease of the home where you or your dependents live in these cases:⁴

• You signed the lease before entering military service and then entered.
• While in service, you signed the lease and later received orders for a permanent change of station (PCS) or to deploy for at least 90 days.
• You signed the lease on receiving those orders and later received a stop movement order for an emergency, for at least 30 days or indefinitely.

Ending it also ends your dependents’ obligations under that lease.⁴

How it is done. You give the landlord or its agent written notice with a copy of your orders. You can deliver it by hand, by courier, by mail with return receipt requested or by electronic means, such as the email address the landlord designated.⁴

When it ends and what you pay. If rent is monthly, termination takes effect 30 days after the first date the next rent payment is due after your notice. You pay rent up to that date, prorated. The landlord may not impose an early termination charge, though you still owe what the lease provides, such as reasonable charges for excess wear. If you paid rent in advance for after that date, it must be refunded within 30 days.⁴

If the servicemember dies or is injured. If the servicemember dies in service, the spouse or dependent can end the lease during the following year. If they suffer a catastrophic injury or illness in service, they can also end it during the following year.⁴

If your rights are not respected. The Department of Justice recommends contacting your local military legal assistance office. If you are not eligible for that assistance, you can submit a complaint to the Department, which cannot investigate every one or act as your lawyer.⁵

If you face violence: VAWA and your state’s laws

If you are a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking, you have protections. Our guide VAWA housing protections for survivors explains all of them in detail; here is what matters for leaving your home.

In federally assisted housing (VAWA). If you live in housing covered by VAWA, such as public housing or with a housing voucherHousing Choice Voucher (Section 8)The Housing Choice Voucher, the program almost everyone calls Section 8, is the country's largest federal rental assistance. HUD pays rental subsidies so eligible families can afford decent, safe and sanitary housing. Local public housing agencies administer it with HUD funds. The family finds its own home on the private market; if the agency approves the unit and the tenancy, it contracts with the owner to pay part of the rent, and the family pays the rest. Waiting lists are usually long and open for limited periods.See the full definitionClose, you qualify for an emergency transfer if you expressly request it and reasonably believe there is a threat of imminent harm from further violence if you stay in the same unit.⁶ If you have a Section 8 voucher, you must be allowed to move with your assistance.⁸ And VAWA does not override state or local laws that give you more protection.⁷

In many states, even if your housing is private. Two examples:

• Texas. You can end the lease, move out and avoid future rent if you give the landlord a copy of a protective order or documentation of family violence from a health care provider, mental health provider or victim advocate, give written notice at least 30 days ahead and move out. If someone who lives with you committed the violence, that notice is not required. You still owe past-due rent, unless your lease lacks the notice about these special rights. And no one can make you give up this right.³
• California. You can give notice ending the lease if you, a household member or an immediate family member was a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, elder abuse or other violent crimes. The notice goes in writing with a protective order, a police report or documentation from a qualified third party, within 180 days. You pay rent for no more than 14 days after the notice, and the landlord may not keep your deposit because of that termination.⁹

If you live in another state, a legal aidlegal aidLegal aid is the free civil legal help that nonprofit organizations and their lawyers provide to low-income people in civil, not criminal, matters. In housing, that includes representing families facing eviction or foreclosure, alongside matters such as custody, child support, protection from domestic violence and access to benefits. In the United States, the Legal Services Corporation, created by Congress, funds a nationwide network of these organizations; its finder points you to the one in your area. Each sets its own income limits.See the full definitionClose organization or the national hotline can tell you which law protects you.¹⁰

Before you leave early

1. 1. Read your lease

   Before you decide

   Look for the termination clause, the notice and whether it allows subletting.¹

2. 2. Check whether you have a legal protection

   Before you give notice

   Military orders, VAWA or your state's law for survivors of violence.⁴

3. 3. Gather your documents

   Before you give notice

   Your orders, or the protective order or documentation your state requires.³

4. 4. Give notice in writing

   With the time the law or lease requires

   With a copy of your documents and a delivery method that leaves proof.⁴

5. 5. Ask for a signed agreement

   If you negotiate

   Move-out date, what you pay and what happens to the deposit.¹

6. 6. Document your move-out

   The day you leave

   Dated photos and keys returned with a receipt.²

   Try it with your numbersTenant rights by state

Example with real numbers

A servicemember with PCS orders

An example in words, not a real case, of how the SCRA applies.

Her situation

She signed a one-year lease while in service and then received PCS orders

What she delivers

Written notice with a copy of her orders, by mail with return receipt

When it ends

30 days after the next rent payment that comes due after the notice is delivered

What she pays

Prorated rent up to that date, with no early termination charge

What she gets back

Any rent she paid in advance for after that date, within 30 days

The rules in this example come from the SCRA.⁴ Use the move-in cash calculator to plan for the next home.

Run it with your numbersMove-in cash

If this is you

You are a servicemember with orders

Give written notice with a copy of your orders; the landlord may not charge an early termination fee.⁴

You face violence and need to leave

In federally assisted housing you can request an emergency transfer; your state may give you more protection.⁶

You have a Section 8 voucher

If you face violence, you must be allowed to move with your assistance.⁸

You are moving for work or family

Read your lease and negotiate in writing; in Texas, the landlord must try to rent the home again.²

You are on a month-to-month lease

Give the notice your state requires; the tenant rights tool shows it.¹

Mistakes that cost you

• Mistake: Leaving without reading your lease.

  Instead: Look for the termination clause, the notice and whether it allows subletting.¹

• Mistake: Giving notice only out loud.

  Instead: Give written notice with a delivery method that leaves proof.⁴

• Mistake: As a servicemember, paying an early termination fee.

  Instead: The SCRA bans that charge; you pay prorated rent up to the effective date.⁴

• Mistake: Sending the military notice without your orders.

  Instead: The SCRA requires written notice with a copy of your orders.⁴

• Mistake: Thinking VAWA only matters in court.

  Instead: In covered housing you can request an emergency transfer for your safety.⁶

• Mistake: Signing away your rights as a survivor.

  Instead: In Texas, that right cannot be waived.³

Free help

The LSC funds civil legal aid for low-income people; its website finds the nearest organization, and LawHelp.org has free information and forms.¹¹ Our guide Free legal aid explains how to ask for it. If you are a servicemember, your military legal assistance office can help with the SCRA.⁵ If you face violence, the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-7233, connects you with local services, and if you are in immediate danger, call 911.¹⁰

If the landlord responds with threats or tries to force you out for using your rights, read our guide Landlord retaliation.

What to do this week

1. Read your lease and mark the termination clause, the notice and what it says about subletting.¹
2. Check whether you have a legal protection: military orders, VAWA or your state’s law.⁷
3. Gather your documents: your orders or the documentation your state requires.⁴
4. Write your notice to the landlord and decide how you will deliver it so you have proof.⁴
5. If you do not have a legal protection, propose a written agreement.²