Tenant's Right to Break a Rental Lease in California

Many tenants who sign a lease for their apartment or rental unit plan to stay for the full amount of time required in the lease, such as one year. But despite your best intentions, you might want (or need) to leave before your lease is up.

Leaving before a fixed-term lease expires without paying the remainder of the rent due under the lease is called "breaking" the lease. Here's a brief review of tenant rights in California to break a lease without further liability for the rent.

Tenant Rights and Responsibilities When Signing a Lease in California

A lease obligates both you and your landlord for a set period of time, usually a year. Under a typical lease, a landlord can't raise the rent or change other terms until the lease runs out (unless the lease itself provides for a change, such as a rent increase mid-lease).

A landlord can't force you to move out before the lease ends, unless you fail to pay the rent or violate another significant lease term, such as repeatedly throwing large and noisy parties. In these cases, landlords in California must follow specific procedures to end the tenancy. For example, your landlord must give you three days' notice to pay the rent or leave before filing an eviction lawsuit. (Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 1161(2) (2023).) If you have engaged in any illegal activity on the premises, your landlord may give you an unconditional quit notice, giving you three days to move out. (Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 1161(4) (2023).) And, if California's statewide rent control laws apply to your rental, other rules might apply.

Tenants are legally bound to pay rent for the full lease term, typically one year, whether or not you continue to live in the rental unit—with some exceptions, as follows.

How to Legally Break a Lease in California

There are some important exceptions to the blanket rule that a tenant who breaks a lease owes the rent for the entire lease term. You might be able to legally move out before the lease term ends in the following situations.

1. You or a Family Member Are a Victim of Domestic Violence or Other Specified Crime

California law provides early termination rights for tenants who are victims of domestic abuse, sexual abuse, and certain other crimes. Tenants may terminate early not only when they themselves are a victim, but also when the victim is a member of their household or an immediate family member—even if they do not live with the immediate family member.

For details about eligibility and how to give notice, read California Civil Code section 1946.7.

2. You Are Starting Active Military Duty

If you enter active military service after signing a lease, you have a right to break the lease under federal law. (War and National Defense Service members Civil Relief Act, 50 App. U.S.C.A. §§ 501 and following.) You must be part of the "uniformed services," which includes the armed forces, commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), commissioned corps of the Public Health Service, and the activated National Guard.

You must give your landlord written notice of your intent to terminate your tenancy for military reasons. Once the notice is mailed or delivered, your tenancy will terminate 30 days after the date that rent is next due, even if that date is several months before your lease expires.

California state law also provides early termination rights when a tenant enters military service or receives military orders. (Cal. Mil. & Vet. Code § 409 (2023).)

3. The Rental Unit Is Unsafe or Violates California Health or Safety Codes

If your landlord does not provide habitable housing under local and state housing codes, a court might conclude that you have been "constructively evicted." This means that the landlord, by supplying unlivable housing, has for all practical purposes "evicted" you—forced you to move out—so you have no further responsibility for the rent.

California law sets specific requirements for the procedures you must follow before moving out because of a major repair problem. The problem must be truly serious, such as the lack of heat or other essential service. (Green v. Superior Court, 10 Cal.3d 616 (1974) and Cal. Civ. Code § 1942 (2023).)

4. Your Landlord Harasses You or Violates Your Privacy Rights

Under state law in California, your landlord must give you reasonable notice in writing before entering your rental. 24 hours' notice (or 48 for the final move-out inspection) is usually considered reasonable. (No notice is required in the event of an emergency.) (Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1954, 1950.5 (2023).)

If your landlord repeatedly violates your rights to privacy, or does things like removing windows or doors, turning off your utilities, or changing the locks, you would be considered "constructively evicted," as described above; this would usually justify you breaking the lease without further rent obligation.

What Happens When a Tenant Breaks a Lease Illegally in California?

When you don't have a right to legally break your lease in California, the following might happen:

• you lose your security deposit (the landlord withholds it to cover unpaid rent)
• you must pay the rent for the time remaining under the lease (unless the landlord finds a suitable replacement tenant)
• the landlord can sue you if you don't voluntarily pay any rent owed
• your landlord becomes a poor reference, making it hard to find another rental in the future, and
• your credit score plummets if the landlord decides to report your unpaid rent to a credit bureau or retains a collection agency to get the rent from you.

The good news is that a landlord can't just sit back and hold you responsible for all the rent under the lease—the landlord must instead try to find a suitable new tenant as soon as possible. This is called the landlord's "duty to mitigate damages."

Landlord's Duty to Mitigate Damages in California

If you don't have a legal justification to break your lease, the good news is that you might still be off the hook for paying all the rent due for the remaining lease term. This is because under California law, your landlord must make reasonable efforts to re-rent your unit—no matter what your reason for leaving—rather than charge you for the total remaining rent due under the lease. (Cal. Civ. Code § 1951.2 (2023).)

The landlord doesn't need to relax their rental criteria just to fill the vacancy—for example, the landlord doesn't have to accept an applicant who has a poor credit history. Also, the landlord isn't required to rent the unit for less than fair market value, or to immediately ignore other business and turn their attention to renting your unit. The landlord is also entitled to add legitimate expenses to your bill—for example, the costs of advertising the property.

If your landlord rerents the property quickly (more likely in college towns and similar markets), all you'll be responsible for is the (hopefully brief) amount of time the unit was vacant.

The bad news is that if the landlord tries to rerent your unit but can't find an acceptable tenant, you'll be liable for paying rent for the remainder of your lease term. This could be a substantial amount of money if you leave several months before your lease ends. Your landlord will probably first use your security deposit to cover the amount you owe. But if your deposit isn't sufficient, your landlord can also sue you.

What If the Landlord Fails to Mitigate Damages?

If the landlord fails to attempt to mitigate their damages and decides to sue you instead, you can use the defense of failure to mitigate damages to offset what you owe. This defense can be tricky, though: You'll have to prove that the landlord didn't make reasonable efforts to rerent, and that the landlord would've been able to find a suitable tenant if they had tried.

How to Minimize Your Financial Responsibility When Breaking a Lease

If you want to leave early but don't have legal justification to do so, there are better options than just moving out and hoping your landlord gets a new tenant quickly. There's a lot you can do to limit the amount of money you need to pay your landlord—and help ensure a good reference from the landlord when you're looking for your next place to live.

You can help the situation by:

• writing a sincere letter to your landlord explaining why you need to leave early
• providing as much notice (in writing) as possible
• making it easy for your landlord to show the rental after you give notice
• leaving the rental in spotless condition, and
• finding a potential replacement tenant who has good credit and excellent references.

More Information

California Tenants' Rights, by J. Scott Weaver and Janet Portman (Nolo) provides extensive legal and practical advice for California tenants on lease terminations, including dozens of forms and sample letters.

Nolo's California Landlord-Tenant law page provides detailed information about landlord-tenant laws in California, California security deposit laws, and more.