Tenant Breaking a Lease: What Landlords Can Do Next

Even the best landlords will occasionally have a tenant who needs to leave before their lease is up. A new job, a breakup, a house purchase, a deployment. Sometimes you get a polite email two months out, and sometimes you find a key in the mailbox and an empty house.

Either way, you will likely have the same questions: what does the tenant still owe, do you have to find someone new, can you charge a fee, and what can't you do?

This guide answers those from the landlord's side, walks through the steps to take when a tenant breaks a lease, and lays out the rules in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., plus the federal rule for military tenants. It reflects state statutes and federal law as of November 2026.

It's general information, not legal advice; laws change, so check your state's statute or talk to a local attorney before you act. Most of what follows depends on your lease. For writing one and the other steps before move-in, see our guide to renting out your house for the first time.

Tenant breaking a lease: the short answer

• A lease is a contract. A tenant who leaves early without a legal reason generally still owes rent until the lease ends or the home is re-rented, plus your reasonable costs of re-renting, whichever comes first under your state's rules.

• Most states expect you to try to re-rent. In most states, including Texas, California, Washington, New York, and Minnesota, a landlord has to make a reasonable effort to find a new tenant, and can't simply let the home sit and bill the old tenant for the full term.

• Early termination fees are a state-by-state question. Florida caps them at 2 months' rent with a signed addendum, and Oregon allows an optional flat fee of up to 1.5 months' rent. California generally voids flat liquidated-damages clauses in residential leases. Many states have no statutory cap, but courts can still strike a fee that looks like a penalty.

• Some tenants can leave legally. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act lets military tenants end a lease for qualifying orders with no early termination fee, and 38 states and Washington, D.C. let victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking leave early. These rights can't be waived in the lease.

• Get it in writing, document everything, and start marketing right away. The faster the home is re-rented, the less there is to argue about.

• Handle the security deposit by the book. You can usually apply it to unpaid rent and damage, but your state's itemization deadline still applies, and federal law bars holding a military tenant's deposit for rent after a valid termination.

What does a tenant owe when they break a lease?

A tenant who breaks a fixed-term lease without a legal reason generally owes the rent they agreed to pay, minus whatever you collect (or reasonably could have collected) by re-renting the home. In practice, what the tenant owes usually comes down to:

• rent through the date the home is re-rented, or through the end of the lease if that comes first,

• any difference if the new tenant pays less rent for the rest of the original term,

• reasonable costs of re-renting, such as advertising, and

• any unpaid rent and damage beyond normal wear and tear from before they left.

Washington spells this out in its statute: for a fixed-term lease, the tenant owes the lesser of the rent for the rest of the term, or the rent until the home is re-rented at a fair rent plus the shortfall and your actual re-renting costs (RCW 59.18.310). California's rule works similarly. A landlord can recover future rent only to the extent the tenant can't show the loss could have been reasonably avoided (Civil Code §1951.2).

The tenant doesn't owe rent for the same months twice. Once a new tenant is paying, the old tenant's liability for those months ends.

If you list with Nomad, the base lease doesn't set a flat lease-break fee. A tenant who leaves early stays responsible for rent until an approved replacement tenant signs, except where state law provides otherwise. If a tenant asks to leave, you decide the terms of the release, including whether to charge a one-time fee to cover re-marketing costs. You can also add your own terms to the lease's additional provisions before it's signed, as long as they don't conflict with the standard lease or your state's law.

Do landlords have to re-rent the home?

Landlords have to try to re-rent the home in most states. The legal term is the duty to mitigate damages: the landlord has to make a reasonable, good-faith effort to re-rent the home at a fair rent, rather than leaving it empty and billing the departed tenant for the full term. More than half the states put that duty in statute, including Texas, California, Washington, New York, and Minnesota, and many of them, Texas and Maryland among them, don't allow a lease to waive it. In others, such as Colorado, North Carolina, Ohio, and New Jersey, it comes from court decisions.

"Reasonable effort" usually means treating the home the way you'd treat any vacancy: list it promptly, at a market rent, and screen applicants with your normal criteria. Maryland's statute says you don't have to show the vacated home ahead of your other empty units (Real Property §8-207), and Florida says something similar.

A few states work differently:

• Florida lets the landlord choose. You can end the lease and retake the home for yourself, which ends the tenant's liability; re-rent it on the tenant's behalf in good faith and charge them the difference; stand by and collect rent as it comes due; or, if the tenant signed the statutory addendum, charge a liquidated damages or early termination fee (Florida Statutes §83.595).

• Georgia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Missouri, and several other states have no statute requiring residential landlords to re-rent, and the court decisions usually cited involve commercial leases. Mississippi's Supreme Court has said landlords don't have to look for new tenants, also in a commercial case. Re-renting is still the practical move, because an empty house costs you money every month while you try to collect from someone who has moved away.

Whatever your state requires, re-renting fast is in your interest. Across Nomad's platform, the median time between tenants is 30 days per turnover, and about 1 in 4 turnovers takes 60 days or more (Nomad platform data, 2026). Our guide to what a rental vacancy costs shows how quickly those days add up.

Can you charge a lease-break fee or early termination fee?

An early termination fee (sometimes called a lease-break fee or buyout) is an amount the tenant agrees, in the lease, to pay in exchange for ending it early. A liquidated damages clause does a similar job: it sets the landlord's damages in advance. Either one can save both sides a dispute over actual losses. Whether you can enforce one depends on the state:

• Florida allows liquidated damages or an early termination fee of up to 2 months' rent, with no more than 60 days' notice required, but only if the tenant signed a separate addendum choosing that option at the start of the lease. If they did, you can also collect rent through the end of the month you retake the home, plus damage charges, but you give up the right to more rent beyond that month (Florida Statutes §83.595).

• California treats a liquidated damages clause in a residential lease as void unless it would be impracticable or extremely difficult to fix the actual damage (Civil Code §1671). Most California landlords recover actual losses under §1951.2 instead.

• South Carolina expressly allows "bona fide" liquidated damages for lost rent after a tenant leaves early (§27-40-330).

• Oregon allows an optional flat fee of up to 1.5 months' rent for leaving a fixed-term lease early, if the lease describes it. If you charge it, you can't also collect rent for the period after you knew the tenant left or your re-renting costs, and no other liquidated damages are allowed (ORS 90.302).

• Maine makes a lease fee for ending the tenancy unenforceable unless it covers reasonable re-renting costs, unpaid rent, or damage (14 M.R.S. §6030).

• Most other states in the table below have no statute capping a lease-break fee. That doesn't make any number enforceable. Courts generally uphold a fee that's a reasonable estimate of what an early move-out costs you, and can strike one that's out of proportion and works as a penalty.

Even a valid fee doesn't apply to a tenant using a protected exit. Federal law bars an early termination charge for military tenants who qualify, and Arizona, North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, and South Carolina, among others, bar fees or liquidated damages for the domestic violence exits described below. A few states allow a charge even then: Kansas permits a fee of up to 1 month's rent if the lease states it, Missouri permits a reasonable termination fee, and Utah has the tenant pay one month's rent on top of rent for the time they lived there.

When can a tenant legally break a lease?

A tenant can legally break a lease when federal or state law gives them a right to leave early, and when they use that right correctly, the normal lease-break math doesn't apply. These rights come from statute, and a lease can't take them away.

Military service (federal law)

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. §3955) applies in every state. A tenant can end a residential lease if they:

• signed the lease and then entered military service,

• signed while in service and then received permanent change of station orders, or orders to deploy for at least 90 days, or

• signed after receiving those orders and then received a stop movement order of 30 days or more that keeps them from moving in.

The tenant gives you written notice and a copy of the orders (or a letter from their commanding officer).

Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), for a lease with monthly rent, the termination takes effect 30 days after the next rent due date following the notice. For example, notice delivered October 10 with rent due November 1 ends the lease December 1. Rent is prorated to that date, and you can't charge an early termination fee, though the tenant still owes unpaid rent before that date and reasonable charges for excess wear.

Under the SCRA, rent paid in advance for after the termination date has to be refunded within 30 days, and knowingly holding the tenant's deposit or belongings to cover rent after that date is a federal misdemeanor. A spouse or dependent can also end the lease within a year if the servicemember dies in service.

Many states add their own military rules on top of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, some broader, including Texas, Florida, Georgia, Washington, Virginia, Maryland, California, New York, Missouri, and Oregon. Several also give National Guard members on state duty the same rights as federal service. Florida and Georgia, for example, also cover orders to move 35 miles or more and temporary duty orders over 60 days.

Domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking

Thirty-eight states and Washington, D.C. let a tenant who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking end the lease early, usually with written notice and a protective order, police report, or statement from a qualified professional. What the tenant owes varies:

• Colorado: one month's rent after they move out, and only if you've documented at least that much in damages from the early termination (C.R.S. §38-12-402).

• Texas: no future rent once 30 days have passed after written notice and the tenant has moved out, with the required documentation (Property Code §92.016 and §92.0161).

• California: no more than 14 days' rent after notice, prorated if you re-rent sooner (Civil Code §1946.7).

• North Carolina, Georgia, and Arizona: prorated rent through a termination date about 30 days out, with no early termination fees.

Many of these laws also limit what you can say to others about the tenant's situation. Colorado, for one, bars you from sharing the fact that a tenant is a victim, or their new address, without their consent. Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, and West Virginia, among others, have no general domestic violence lease exit in their landlord-tenant laws, and Louisiana's applies only to buildings with six or more units.

Other legal reasons a tenant can leave

• The landlord didn't hold up their end. In most states a tenant can end the lease, after proper notice, if the home becomes unlivable and the landlord doesn't make required repairs. A tenant who claims this is effectively saying they didn't break the lease, so treat a repair dispute carefully.

• Death of a sole tenant. In Texas, the estate's representative can end the lease with 30 days' written notice (Property Code §92.0162). In Virginia, the lease is treated as ended on the death of a sole tenant, though the estate stays liable for actual damages and the landlord has to mitigate (Va. Code §55.1-1256). New Jersey, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Delaware, and West Virginia also have death-of-tenant rules.

• Medical need. Maryland caps rent at 2 months after move-out for a tenant certified by a physician or psychologist as no longer able to live in the home, unless the lease already has a qualifying 2-month early termination clause (Real Property §8-212.2).

• Rent increases over the state cap. In Washington, a tenant facing an increase above the statewide limit can leave before it takes effect with 20 days' notice, owing rent only for the month they move out and no fees (RCW 59.18.700).

• Undisclosed flooding. In Florida, a tenant on a lease of a year or more who wasn't given the required flood disclosure, and then suffers substantial loss from flooding, can end the lease (Florida Statutes §83.512).

• Moving to senior housing or care. New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Rhode Island, and Delaware let older or disabled tenants, or tenants who can no longer live on their own, leave early to move into care or senior housing, with 30 days' to 2 months' notice depending on the state.

• A job move. Delaware lets a tenant leave on 30 days' notice for a new job more than 30 miles away (25 Del. C. §5314).

• A landlord's notice ending the tenancy. In Oregon, a tenant who gets a landlord-cause notice ending the tenancy at the end of the term can leave sooner on 30 days' notice, with no fee (ORS 90.372).

What to do when a tenant breaks a lease, step by step

Step 1: Get the tenant's notice in writing

If a tenant tells you by phone or text that they're leaving, ask them to send it in writing with their planned move-out date, a forwarding address, and the reason if they're claiming a legal right to leave. A dated written notice sets the clock for military and domestic violence exits, gives you a forwarding address for the deposit, and keeps the conversation out of he-said, she-said territory later.

If the tenant just disappears, don't assume the home is abandoned. States define abandonment and its notice steps differently. Arizona, for example, requires a posted and mailed notice of abandonment and a 5-day wait before you retake the home (A.R.S. §33-1370). Changing the locks on a tenant who hasn't actually given up the home can be an illegal lockout; our Florida eviction process guide shows what that can cost in one state.

Step 2: Check whether it's a protected exit

Before you quote anyone a number, check whether the tenant's reason is covered by federal law or your state's statute. Look at the documents they've provided and the notice period they've given. If a protected exit applies, the statute sets what they owe, and charging a fee anyway can bring penalties. Texas, for example, makes a landlord who violates its family violence or military exits liable for the tenant's actual damages, a penalty of one month's rent plus $500, and attorney's fees (Property Code §92.016, §92.017).

Step 3: Decide whether to offer a release

If no federal or state protected exit applies, you have three options. You can hold the tenant to the lease and your state's rules, collect the agreed fee if your lease has a valid one, or negotiate a written release. Common release terms include the tenant paying rent until a replacement tenant you approve signs a lease, helping with showings, or paying a set amount in exchange for ending their obligations on a specific date. Whatever you agree, put it in a signed release that says what the tenant owes, by when, and what happens to the deposit.

Many owners would rather agree on a clean exit than chase a former tenant for months. A release is a trade: the tenant gets a fixed end date, and you get a cooperative tenant who keeps the home show-ready and leaves it in better shape.

Step 4: Document the home before and after move-out

Walk the home with the tenant if you can, and take date-stamped photos and video of every room, using your move-in record as the baseline. That's what separates damage you can charge for from normal wear and tear you can't. Keep copies of the tenant's notice, any release, and every message about the move-out.

Step 5: Market the home right away

Start advertising as soon as you know the move-out date, not after the tenant is gone, since every vacant day adds to the balance you'll have to collect. List at a fair market rent and screen applicants with the same criteria you always use. Keep a record of what you did and when: listing dates, sites, rent, inquiries, showings, and applications. If the old tenant later disputes what they owe, that log is how you show you made a reasonable effort to re-rent.

Watch the first week closely. A listing that draws few inquiries early usually needs a price or photo change, and our guide to how long it takes to rent a house shows what to look for. If you list with Nomad, the listing goes out to 30+ rental sites and applicants are screened on the platform, while you set the rent and choose the tenant.

Step 6: Apply the security deposit correctly

In most states you can apply the deposit to unpaid rent and damage beyond normal wear and tear, but the normal deposit rules still apply: send the itemized statement and any refund within your state's deadline, which usually runs from the date the tenant moves out. Some lease-break situations have their own deposit rules:

• Under federal law, you can't hold a military tenant's deposit to cover rent for any period after a valid termination.

• Arizona bars withholding the deposit for the early termination itself when a tenant leaves under the domestic violence exit, though you can still deduct damages.

• Washington requires returning the full deposit, less lawful deductions, to a tenant who leaves under its domestic violence exit, even if the lease says the deposit is forfeited for early termination.

• Colorado lets you hold the deposit until a tenant leaving under its domestic violence exit pays the one month's rent they owe.

Our guide to security deposit deadlines by state lists each state's return deadline and itemization rules.

Step 7: Keep records and decide whether to pursue the balance

Once the home is re-rented, add up what the old tenant owes: rent for the vacant period, any rent shortfall from the new lease for the rest of the original term, re-renting costs, and damage, minus the deposit. Send the former tenant a written statement and a request for payment. If they don't pay, your options are small claims court, a collection agency, or letting it go. Weigh the amount against your time and the odds of collecting from someone who may have moved out of state.

Clear payment records make this much easier. If you collect rent online, you have a dated ledger of every payment and missed payment to attach to your statement or court filing.

How Nomad handles this: With Nomad's guaranteed rent, you're paid on a fixed monthly schedule for the term of an executed lease, whether or not the tenant pays. If a tenant moves out early and stops paying, guaranteed rent payments continue until the tenant is two months behind, then pause (Nomad Terms of Service §2.6.1).

If you agree to end the lease early, Nomad's guaranteed rent obligation ends when you do (§2.12.2), and any change to the tenant's rent terms that Nomad hasn't approved in writing pauses guaranteed rent (§2.12.3). So if a tenant on a guaranteed rent lease asks to leave, talk to Nomad before you sign a release or accept a buyout. Guaranteed rent covers an executed lease, not vacancy between tenants. These terms are from the Nomad Terms of Service, version 2.1, last modified March 25, 2025. Our guide to how guaranteed rent works covers the rest.

What are the lease-break rules in each state?

Lease-break rules differ in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., and the table below covers each one in alphabetical order. "Protected exits" lists state exits; the federal military exit applies in every state on top of these. Statute sections are given so you can read the current text. Cities can add their own rules, such as Chicago's and Philadelphia's, so check local law too.

Federal law adds a military exit in every state: written notice and orders, termination 30 days after the next rent due date, and no early termination charge (50 U.S.C. §3955).

How should your next lease handle a lease break?

Your next lease should spell out how a lease break works before anyone signs. A clear clause turns a stressful conversation into a formula both sides already agreed to. What owners commonly include:

• How the tenant gives notice. In writing, to a specific address or email, with a move-out date and forwarding address.

• What the tenant owes. Either rent until a replacement tenant you approve signs a lease, plus re-renting costs, or a set early termination fee where your state allows one. In Florida, a fee only works through the statutory addendum, in Oregon it's capped at 1.5 months' rent, and in California a flat fee is generally void.

• Whether the tenant can help find a replacement, and that you'll screen any replacement with your normal criteria.

• A plain statement that statutory rights still apply. Military and domestic violence exits can't be waived. Texas goes further: unless the lease includes language substantially equivalent to "Tenants may have special statutory rights to terminate the lease early in certain situations involving family violence or a military deployment or transfer," a tenant who uses those exits is also released from rent they already owed (Property Code §92.016, §92.017).

• Anything your state requires the lease to say. Michigan requires the lease to state the 60-day exit for tenants moving to senior housing (MCL 554.601a). Wisconsin requires every lease to include the state's notice of domestic abuse protections (Wis. Stat. §704.14). Oregon and Idaho require any fee, including a lease-break fee, to be written into the lease, and in Kansas a fee for the domestic violence exit applies only if the lease states it.

• How the deposit is handled, consistent with your state's deposit law. A clause saying the deposit is automatically forfeited when a tenant leaves early won't hold up in every state.

Lease end dates matter too. A lease that ends in late spring or summer is easier to re-rent if the tenant leaves, and our guide to the notice of non-renewal of lease covers ending a lease on schedule instead. Have an attorney licensed in your state review your lease-break terms, since a clause that's standard in one state can be unenforceable in the next.

Frequently asked questions

What happens when a tenant breaks a lease?

The tenant generally stays responsible for rent until the home is re-rented or the lease ends, whichever comes first, plus your reasonable re-renting costs and any damage. In most states you have to make a reasonable effort to re-rent, and anything the new tenant pays reduces what the old tenant owes.

Can a landlord charge a fee for breaking a lease?

Yes, in most states, if the fee is in the signed lease and is a reasonable estimate of your losses rather than a penalty. Florida caps it at 2 months' rent with a signed addendum, Oregon caps an optional flat fee at 1.5 months' rent, California generally voids flat liquidated damages in residential leases, and no fee applies to a tenant using a protected military or domestic violence exit.

Does a landlord have to find a new tenant if the tenant breaks the lease?

In most states, yes. The landlord has a duty to mitigate damages, which means making a reasonable effort to re-rent at a fair rent. Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Mississippi are among the states without that statutory duty for residential leases, though re-renting is still the practical choice.

Can a tenant break a lease for military service?

A tenant can break a lease for military service under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. A tenant who enters military service, or who gets permanent change of station orders or deployment orders of 90 days or more, can end the lease with written notice and a copy of the orders. For monthly rent, it ends 30 days after the next rent due date, and the landlord can't charge an early termination fee.

Can a landlord keep the security deposit if a tenant breaks the lease?

A landlord can usually apply the deposit to unpaid rent and damage, but not keep it automatically as a penalty. You still have to send an itemized statement and any refund by your state's deadline, and some protected exits limit what you can withhold.

Can a tenant break a lease because of domestic violence?

A tenant can break a lease because of domestic violence in 38 states and Washington, D.C. Each has its own notice, documentation, and rent rules, and Louisiana's exit applies only to buildings with six or more units. Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, and a few others have no general exit of this kind.

This article is for general information only and isn't legal advice. It reflects federal law and the state statutes cited as of November 2026. Laws change, and courts apply them to the facts of each case. Check your state's current statute or talk to an attorney licensed in your state before you act on a lease break.