Does a tenant have legal justification to break his lease?
In general, tenants cannot escape liability under their leases due to economic hardship, a job transfer, family matters, safety and security concerns, or health issues. In most jurisdictions, even death does not terminate a lease and the deceased’s estate remains liable for the lease.
The lease agreement is a binding legal contract between landlord and tenant detailing specific responsibilities for each party during the lease term. By signing the lease agreement, the tenant incurs the obligation to pay rent to the landlord for the entire term. When a tenant leaves before the expiration of his lease, without paying the rent due under the lease terms, the tenant breaks the lease.
In some states however, the landlord-tenant statutes allow a tenant to terminate a tenancy before the end of term without landlord permission in limited circumstances for reasons such as:
- A tenant who is a member of the armed forces, or that tenant’s spouse or dependent, who delivers copies of reassignment or deployment orders to the landlord within the required number of days of receipt of orders.
- As a remedy to the landlord’s failure to maintain fit and habitable housing resulting in constructive eviction of the tenant.
- A tenant who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, unlawful harassment or stalking, and who has a legal protection order or has reported the incident to the authorities.
- A tenant who is threatened by a neighbor with a deadly weapon resulting in an arrest, and landlord fails to file an eviction action.
- A tenant is threatened by the landlord with a deadly weapon resulting in arrest.
- State specific laws allowing early termination for reasons such as a tenant job relocation, health problems, or moves to assisted living facilities, or housing for the elderly.
- The rental property is significantly damaged or destroyed by natural disaster or other reasons beyond the tenant’s control.
- A landlord or landlord’s agent violates the tenant’s right to privacy and quiet enjoyment of the property by stalking, sexual assault or unlawful harassment of the tenant.
A landlord must decide the appropriate course of action by statute and lease agreement when a tenant breaks his lease. In many states a landlord must make a reasonable attempt to re-rent the unit as soon as possible to mitigate damages. A landlord has the option to release a tenant from his lease obligations through a negotiated buyout settlement with the tenant. As another option, the landlord could choose to accept a tenant’s offer of a substitute replacement tenant for the remainder of the lease term. In this case, the landlord should do all normal screening usually performed.