Beginning a tenancy is straightforward: The landlord and tenants sign a lease or rental agreement, and the tenants move in. Ending a tenancy, though, can get complicated: How a landlord or a tenant goes about ending a tenancy depends on the type of tenancy, the timing of the termination, and many other factors.

How Residential Leases End

Residential leases create a tenancy for a fixed amount of time, called the term. Most residential leases have a one-year term. Leases end automatically at the end of their term, and, if the landlord and tenants don’t sign a new lease or rental agreement, the tenants must move out (or, in rare instances, stay on as holdover tenants). Unless a rental is subject to rent control or another form of tenant protection law, landlords can decline to enter into a new lease with the tenants for any nondiscriminatory, nonretaliatory reason.

During the term of a lease, both landlords and tenants are bound to what they agreed upon in the lease, including the tenants’ paying rent and the landlords’ providing habitable premises. Terminating a lease early isn't easy for either landlords or tenants.

Early Termination by Landlords

Landlords cannot remove tenants or terminate a lease early unless the tenants violate the terms of the lease—for example, by failing to pay rent or by damaging the property.

To terminate a lease early, landlords must follow their state’s law. Every state’s law on termination for lease violations is different—some states require landlords to give tenants an opportunity to fix lease violations before terminating a tenancy; others allow landlords to terminate without giving the tenants a second chance. State laws often require landlords to notify tenants of their intent to terminate by sending a notice to quit (leave) the premises. Notices to quit typically fall into one of the following categories:

• Pay rent or quit notices. When tenants don’t pay the rent, landlords serve them with a notice giving them a certain amount of time (usually three to five days) to either pay the rent or leave the rental.
• Cure or quit notices. When tenants break a condition of the lease other than paying rent (such as having a pet despite a no-pets clause), landlords serve them with this notice giving them a set amount of time to fix the problem or leave the rental.
• Unconditional quit notices. This is the most serious termination notice—it’s an order from the landlord to leave the rental without any chance for the tenants to fix their lease violation. State laws on unconditional quit notices vary, but tenants who receive these notices typically have a short period of time to leave the premises. Some states allow landlords to order tenants to leave immediately for acts such as threatening to cause irreparable harm to property or other people.

When tenants ignore a notice to quit and remain in the rental, landlords can begin the process of evicting the tenants. If the landlord’s eviction lawsuit is successful, the judge will issue an order authorizing law enforcement to remove the tenants from the rental.

Early Termination by Tenants

In very limited situations (such as a landlord’s failure to provide habitable premises or a tenant's being a victim of domestic violence) tenants may legally break their lease early. If you’re a tenant and you believe your landlord has done (or failed to do) something that justifies breaking your lease, you should consult with a local landlord-tenant attorney before you take any action—state laws on when tenants can legally break a lease are very specific, and if you wrongfully break your lease, you might be on the hook for a lot of rent.

In most situations, though, tenants are legally obligated to pay rent for the entire lease term. Tenants who want to leave a rental early should ask their landlord to cancel the lease—asking can’t hurt, and sometimes it actually works! Another option for tenants is to ask the landlord for permission to sublet or assign the lease to another person.

If a landlord doesn’t agree to cancel the lease and the tenants leave anyway, most states require landlords to try to mitigate (or lessen) their damages by attempting to rerent the unit. The tenants are responsible for paying rent until the landlord finds replacement tenants. If the landlord isn’t able to find replacement tenants who pay the same rent as the original tenants, the original tenants are responsible for making up the difference in rent until the lease term ends.

How Rental Agreements End

Rental agreements create tenancies for a short period of time—usually one month (a month-to-month agreement). Landlords and tenants should review their state’s law on terminating month-to-month rental agreements—many states require a certain amount of notice (usually 30 days for month-to-month agreements) in writing to end the tenancy. If there is no state law requiring notice, look to the rental agreement itself for direction, or consult with a local landlord-tenant attorney for guidance on how to terminate.