Breaking a lease

What to know

1. Read your lease for an early-termination or buyout clause, subletting rules, and how much notice it requires. That's your starting point.
2. Talk to your landlord early, and follow up in writing. Explain the reason and the date. Offer help: you'll show the unit, find a qualified replacement or pay a set fee.
3. Ask about a sublet or assignment. In New York, tenants in buildings with four or more units have the right to sublet with the landlord's advance consent. If the landlord unreasonably refuses, you can be let out of the lease after 30 days' notice. Source: NY AG¹
4. Know when the law lets you leave. If you're in the military and get PCS orders, or orders to deploy for at least 90 days, you can end a lease with written notice under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. Source: Military OneSource³
5. If you or someone in your home is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking or human trafficking, many states let you leave early. In California, it's 14 days' written notice with a copy of a restraining order or police report, or a statement from a qualified third party. Source: California DRE²
6. Ask whether the landlord has to try to re-rent. In New York, a landlord must try to re-rent if you leave early, and a lease can't waive that. Source: NY AG¹ Rules vary by state.
7. Get the deal in writing: your end date, what you'll pay, and that you're released from the rest of the lease. Then leave it clean and photographed. See Move-in photos and getting your deposit back.

An email you can copy

Subject: Ending my lease early, [address, unit #]

Hi [name],

I need to move out early because [reason]. I'd like my last day to be [date].

I want to make this easy: I can show the unit, help find a qualified replacement tenant, and leave it clean. [If your lease has a buyout clause: I'm ready to use the early termination option in section __.]

Can we agree in writing on my end date and what I'll owe?

Thank you,
[your name] · [phone]

Tenant guides for all 50 states and DC

Your state's rules decide deposits, notice and repairs. Most of these come from a state attorney general, housing agency, court or legislature. Where we couldn't find one, the row says who publishes the closest guide we found. Each link was opened and checked on October 3, 2026. Cities can add their own rules, so check your city too.

Not a government source: Alabama (Legal Services Alabama, a nonprofit legal aid group) and Ohio (the Ohio State Bar Association). West Virginia: we didn't find a state tenant guide; the attorney general's consumer division takes complaints.

If it doesn't work

• Unit unlivable and repairs never happen? Some states let you leave. California calls this the abandonment remedy. Source: California DRE Talk to legal aid first. Source: LSC⁴
• Landlord says you owe the whole lease? Ask legal aid how your state handles re-renting. Source: LSC⁴
• In danger right now? Call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 800-799-7233.