Breaking A Lease: When Can I Do It?

A lease is a contract between you and your landlord. You agree to pay a certain amount of rent and comply with certain terms. In return, the landlord agrees to let you live in the apartment or house. Most leases are for a specific term – usually a year or two. That means you’ve signed a contract to keep paying rent and obeying the lease terms for that amount of time. But what happens if you need or want to move early? When is breaking a lease an option?

Breaking A Lease For Personal Reasons

Maybe you got a new job and need to relocate. Maybe you want to move in with a roommate or a significant other. Maybe you can’t afford the rent anymore or got a raise and want to move to a bigger place. There are plenty of reasons you might want to leave your current home without finishing out your lease. However, you signed a contract agreeing to pay the rent for the full lease term. What are your options?

You could simply move your stuff out and stop paying. However, that’s the worst way to handle it – your landlord can sue you for the rent that you would have paid over the rest of the lease. If the landlord gets a judgment against you, you may be facing wage garnishment and other collection actions to pay the rest of the lease. This lawsuit will also be reported to the credit bureaus, meaning your credit score will take a hit and future potential landlords will be able to see it on your record, making it harder for you to rent a home in the future.

Instead, talk to your landlord. Many landlords are willing to let you move out early as long as you or the landlord find a suitable replacement tenant – one that meets all of the landlord’s criteria. If your landlord isn’t willing to let you move out early, you still have options for breaking a lease.

First, you can find a subletter. You’re still on the lease, meaning you’re still ultimately responsible, but the subletter pays the rent and lives in the apartment so you can move elsewhere. You can also “assign” the lease, meaning you pass the lease on to another renter. However, you’re still liable if that person doesn’t pay. Check the terms of your lease – most of them require you to get the landlord’s approval before subletting and you’ll definitely need approval for assignment.

Some landlords will fight you over subletter approval. However, California law requires a landlord to mitigate the damages when a tenant is breaking a lease. In other words, they can’t refuse a reasonable replacement and expect to sue you for the full value of the lease. That means accepting a reasonable replacement tenant so as to not lose the rent money. You’ll still be on the hook for any money that the landlord does lose, such as fees for finding and vetting a replacement or rent for months that the apartment went empty, but you won’t have to pay the full rent for the rest of your lease. That said, you may have to go to court in order to argue that the landlord should have accepted your alternatives, which is a time-consuming and expensive process. It’s better to work with your landlord to find a solution that works for both of you.

Breaking A Lease For Other Reasons

Convenience and expense aren’t the only reasons for breaking a lease. California law also recognizes 4 situations in which breaking a lease is allowed without the tenant having to pay for the rest of the lease term.

1. Starting Active Military Duty

It wouldn’t make much sense to hold soldiers responsible for their leases when they get called to active duty. So, federal law gives you the right to break the lease if you get called up. War and National Defense Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 App. U.S.C.A. § 535(b). You’ll have to give your landlord written notice that you’re terminating the lease to go on active duty and the lease will automatically terminate 30 days after the next time you have to pay rent.

Note that this only applies if you’re going to be on active duty for more than 90 days.

2. Domestic Violence, Elder Abuse, Sexual Assault, Or Stalking

Breaking a lease is allowed under California law if you’ve been the victim of domestic violence, elder abuse, sexual assault, or stalking. Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.7. You’ll need to give your landlord notice and attach a copy of a temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or protective order. You’ll also need to provide a copy of a police report stating that you are allegedly the victim of assault, abuse, stalking, or violence. Finally, you’ll need to provide a statement from a qualified third party that says you’re seeking help for the abuse or violence – that means a case worker or some other professional with knowledge of your situation.

3. Health And Safety Violations

Your landlord has to provide you with habitable housing and a major violation of that is grounds for breaking a lease. For example, you could be left without water or with a hole in the roof. The apartment would be unlivable and a court would find that the landlord had “constructively evicted” you, meaning you would no longer be on the hook for the rest of the lease. Cal. Civ. Code § 1941.1.

In order to take advantage of this rule, you’ll need to notify your landlord in writing of the problem. If it’s not fixed within a reasonable amount of time, you can pay for the repairs yourself if they cost less than one month’s rent and then deduct that amount from your next rent payment. If the repairs are going to cost more than a month’s rent, you can leave the apartment and you’re no longer liable for the rest of the lease. Cal. Civ. Code § 1942. A “reasonable amount of time” may vary depending on the severity of the health and safety issue, but 30 days is the maximum. Once 30 days have passed since you gave your landlord notice, you can either repair the issue or leave and you’re definitely covered by the law. If it’s been less than 30 days, you may need to hire a lawyer to defend your decision and show that the time you waited was reasonable.

4. Privacy Violations

Under California law, your landlord must give you at least 24 hours’ notice before entering your home and 48 hours’ notice before performing a move-out inspection. Cal. Civ. Code § 1954. If your landlord violates these rules or does other things that invade your privacy (removing doors and windows, changing locks, etc.), you’ll be considered “constructively evicted” as you would with a health and safety violation. Again, you may need to hire a lawyer to defend your decision to move out.

The Bottom Line

Breaking a lease may be desirable or necessary for a number of reasons. Whatever your reason, you should keep a complete written record of your communications with your landlord as well as documentation of any problems that arise. If you want to move out, you should talk to your landlord first to see if you can work something out amicably. If you can’t, however, you may need to hire a lawyer to ensure that your rights are respected and help you avoid paying for the remainder of your lease.

If you’re struggling with landlord and tenant issues and would like to speak to an attorney, we can help. Our Attorney Referral Service can match you with an experienced landlord/tenant lawyer in your area.

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