A lease covers a fixed period of time (called the "term") and obligates the tenant to pay rent until the lease ends. Some states allow tenants to break a lease and leave early without penalty under certain circumstances, such as leaving a domestic violence situation, or entering military service. And many states require landlords to take reasonable efforts find a new tenant (to rerent), rather than simply do nothing and expect the vacating tenant to pay rent through the end of the lease term. A landlord's responsibility to rerent is also known as the duty to mitigate damages. This chart provides some basic information on state laws on the subject. Read your state statute (or relevant court case) for the specific rules in your state. The citation is provided here, and you can visit the Library of Congress's legal research site for links to state statutes and judicial decisions.
Landlord's Duty to Rerent |
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State |
Legal authority |
Must make reasonable efforts to rerent |
Has no duty to look for or rent to a new tenant |
Law is unclear or courts are divided on the issue |
Ala. Code §§ 35-9A-105, 35-9A-423 |
X1 |
|||
Alaska |
Alaska Stat. § 34.03.230(c) |
X |
||
Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 33-1370 |
X |
|||
Grayson v. Mixon, 5 S.W.2d 312 (Ark. 1928) |
X |
|||
Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1951.2, 1951.4 |
X |
X2 | ||
Schneiker v. Gordon, 732 P.2d 603 (Colo. 1987) |
X3 |
|||
Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 47a-11a |
X |
|||
Delaware |
Del. Code Ann. tit. 25, § 5507(d)(2) |
X |
||
D.C. Code Ann. § 42-3505.52 |
X | |||
Fla. Stat. Ann. § 83.595 |
X4 |
|||
Ga. Code Ann. § 44-7-34; Peterson v. Midas Realty Corp., 287 S.E.2d 61 (Ga. Ct. App. 1981) |
X |
X5 | ||
Hawaii |
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-70(d) |
X6 |
||
Idaho |
Consol. Ag v. Rangen, Inc., 128 Idaho 228 (Idaho 1996) |
X |
||
735 Ill. Comp. Stat. § 5/9-213.1 |
X |
|||
Nylen v. Park Doral Apartments, 535 N.E.2d. 178 (Ind. Ct. App. 1989) |
X |
|||
Iowa Code § 562A.29(3) |
X |
|||
Kan. Stat. Ann. § 58-2565(c) |
X |
|||
Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 383.670 |
X |
|||
La. Civ. Code Ann. Art. 2002; Easterling v. Halter Marine, Inc., 470 So.2d 221 (La. Ct. App. 1985); Gray v. Kanavel, 508 So.2d 970 (La. Ct. App. 1987) |
X |
X |
||
Maine |
Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 14, § 6010-A |
X |
||
Md. Code Ann. [Real Prop.], § 8-207 |
X | |||
Edmands v. Rust & Richardson Drug Co., 191 Mass. 123, 128 (1906) and assorted other cases |
X |
X7 | ||
Fox v. Roethlisberger, 85 N.W.2d 73 (Mich. 1957) |
X |
|||
Control Data Corp. v. Metro Office Parks Co., 296 Minn. 302 (Minn. 1973) |
X |
|||
Mississippi |
Alsup v. Banks, 9 So. 895 (Miss. 1891) |
X8 |
||
Rhoden Inv. Co. v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 499 S.W.2d 375 (Mo. 1973); Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.300 |
X9 |
|||
Montana |
Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-426 |
X |
||
Nebraska |
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1432 |
X |
||
Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 118.175 |
X |
|||
New Hampshire |
Wen v. Arlen's, Inc., 103 A.2d 86 (N.H. 1954); Modular Mfg., Inc. v. Dernham Co., 65 B.R. 856 (Bankr. D. N.H. 1986) |
X |
||
Sommer v. Kridel, 378 A.2d 767 (N.J. 1977) |
X |
|||
New Mexico |
N.M. Stat. Ann. § 47-8-6 |
X |
||
N.Y. Real Prop Law § 227-e |
X | |||
Isbey v. Crews, 284 S.E.2d 534 (N.C. Ct. App. 1981) |
X |
|||
North Dakota |
N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-13.5 |
X |
||
Stern v. Taft, 361 N.E.2d 279 (Ct. App. 1976) |
X10 |
|||
Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 41, § 129 |
X |
|||
Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 90.410 |
X |
|||
Stonehedge Square Ltd. P'ship v. Movie Merchs., 715 A.2d 1082 (Pa. 1998) |
X |
|||
Rhode Island |
R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-40 |
X |
||
S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-730(c) |
X |
|||
South Dakota |
No cases or statutes in South Dakota discuss this issue. |
X11 |
||
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-507(c) |
X12 |
|||
Tex. Prop. Code Ann. § 91.006 |
X |
|||
Utah Code Ann. § 78B-6-816; Reid v. Mutual of Omaha Ins. Co., 776 P.2d 896 (Utah 1989) |
X |
|||
Vermont |
Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 9, § 4462 |
X |
||
Va. Code Ann. § 55.1-1251 |
X |
|||
Wash. Rev. Code Ann. §§ 59.18.310, 59.18,595 |
X13 |
|||
West Virginia |
W.Va. Code § 37-6-7; Teller v. McCoy, 253 S.E.2d 114 (W.Va. 1978) |
X |
||
Wis. Stat. Ann. § 704.29 |
X |
|||
Wyoming |
Goodwin v. Upper Crust, Inc., 624 P.2d 1192 (1981) |
X |
||
1 Landlord can prioritize renting other vacant units first. (Alabama) 2 Landlord must make reasonable efforts to rerent. However, landlord may keep the lease in effect and recover rent as it becomes due if landlord has not retaken possession, and the lease states that the tenant has the right to sublet or assign, subject only to landlord's reasonable limitations. (California) 3 Case law favors mitigation. (Colorado) 4 Landlord can re-rent; do nothing (tenant remains liable for rent as it comes due); or invoke any liquidated damages or early termination provision(s). The latter two remedies are available only if the lease includes a liquidated damages addendum, or addition, that provides for no more than 2 months' damages and requires tenant to give no more than 60 days' notice. Liquidated damages provision must substantially include the language specified in Fla. Stat. Ann. § 83.595. (Florida) 5 Ga. Code Ann. § 44-7-34 states that nothing precludes landlords from retaining the security deposit for rent and other damages provided the landlord attempts to mitigate the actual damages. However, a Georgia court has held that a landlord could keep the rental vacant and sue for rent as it becomes due in spite of this statute. (Kimber v. Towne Hills Dev. Co., 274 S.E.2d 620 (Ga. Ct. App. 1980).) (Georgia) 6 The statute implies that the landlord has a duty to rerent: When a tenant breaks the lease, the landlord is entitled to the lesser of (1) the entire rent due for the remainder of the term or (2) the amount of rent accrued during the period reasonably necessary to rerent at a fair rent plus the difference between fair rent and the rent under the lease, as well as a commission for the renting of the unit. The landlord is entitled to the lesser of these two even if the landlord doesn't actually rerent the unit. (Hawaii) 7 Although case law seems to accept a duty to mitigate, there is no definitive statement of the law and the issue remains unsettled. (Massachusetts) 8 Many Miss. attorneys believe this old case is not sound authority, and that a trial judge would find a duty to mitigate in spite of it. (Mississippi) 9 Landlord must mitigate only if intending to use tenant's security deposit to cover future unpaid rent. (Missouri) 10 Duty to mitigate applies in absence of any clause that purports to relieve the landlord of this duty (courts must enforce this clause). (Ohio) 11 It is likely that a S.D. court would require a landlord to mitigate damages. The S.D. Supreme Court has found that "[t]he breaching party has the burden of proving damages would have been lessened by the exercise of reasonable diligence on the part of the non-breaching party." Ducheneaux v. Miller, 488 N.W.2d 902, 918 (S.D. Sup. Ct. 1992). (South Dakota) 12 Applies only to counties having a population of more than 75,000, according to the 2010 federal census. (See Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-102). (Tennessee) 13 Detailed procedures must be followed when premises are vacant due to tenant's death. (See Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 59.18.595.) (Washington) |
Updated: January 26, 2022
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