A free tool from NextGen Properties — $500M+ AUM

Lease Break Fee, Early Termination & Duty to Mitigate by State 2026

Three things drive what a tenant actually owes after breaking a lease: state duty-to-mitigate rule, state DV early-termination statute, and the federal SCRA military exception. All cited per row.

The Federal Floor — Same in All 50 States + DC

Two federal statutes override state law. Every landlord must follow them regardless of what the lease says or what the state landlord-tenant code provides.

Federal early-termination rights:

The Single Biggest Variable: Duty to Mitigate

If the state imposes a duty to mitigate, the landlord must take reasonable steps to re-rent the unit after a tenant breaks a lease. The tenant only owes rent for the period the unit was reasonably vacant despite the landlord's good-faith efforts. In states with a strong duty (most), a tenant who hands over keys and gives notice typically owes one to three months' rent — not the full remainder of the lease.

In the small minority of states that follow the historical no-duty rule, the landlord can let the unit sit empty and collect rent for the full remaining term. Mississippi is the cleanest example. Arkansas, Idaho, North Carolina, South Dakota, and Wyoming have unsettled or limited case law and should not be treated as duty-to-mitigate states without specific advice.

State-by-State Duty to Mitigate & DV Early Termination

Sorted with the strongest statutory protections first.

State Duty to Mitigate State DV Early-Term Statute Authority
Alabama Statute No specific statute Ala. Code § 35-9A-105
Alaska Statute Yes AS § 34.03.300 AS § 34.03.230
Arizona Statute Yes A.R.S. § 33-1318 A.R.S. § 33-1370(C)
California Statute Yes Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.7 Cal. Civ. Code § 1951.2
Colorado Statute Yes C.R.S. § 38-12-402 C.R.S. § 13-40-104(4)
Connecticut Statute Yes C.G.S. § 47a-11e C.G.S. § 47a-11a
Delaware Statute Yes 25 Del. C. § 5141A 25 Del. C. § 5507(d)
Florida Statute Yes Fla. Stat. § 83.683 Fla. Stat. § 83.595(2)
Hawaii Statute Yes HRS § 521-80 HRS § 521-70(d)
Illinois Statute Yes 765 ILCS 750 735 ILCS 5/9-213.1
Iowa Statute Yes Iowa Code § 562A.27A Iowa Code § 562A.29(3)
Kansas Statute Yes K.S.A. § 58-25,127 K.S.A. § 58-2565(c)
Kentucky Statute Yes KRS § 383.300 KRS § 383.670
Maine Statute Yes 14 M.R.S. § 6001(6) 14 M.R.S. § 6010-A
Montana Statute Yes Mont. Code § 70-24-322 Mont. Code § 70-24-426
Nebraska Statute No specific statute Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1432
Nevada Statute Yes NRS § 118A.345 NRS § 118A.490
New Mexico Statute Yes NMSA § 47-8-33.2 NMSA § 47-8-6
New York Statute Yes N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 227-c N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 227-e
North Dakota Statute No specific statute N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-13.5
Ohio Statute No specific statute Ohio Rev. Code § 5321.05(C)(2)
Oklahoma Statute Yes 41 Okla. Stat. § 113.4 41 Okla. Stat. § 129
Oregon Statute Yes ORS § 90.453 ORS § 90.410(3)
Rhode Island Statute Yes R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-37-1 R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-40
South Carolina Statute Yes S.C. Code § 27-40-740 S.C. Code § 27-40-730
Tennessee Statute Yes Tenn. Code § 66-28-518 Tenn. Code § 66-28-507
Texas Statute Yes Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0161 Tex. Prop. Code § 91.006
Vermont Statute Yes 9 V.S.A. § 4474d 9 V.S.A. § 4475
Virginia Statute Yes Va. Code § 55.1-1236 Va. Code § 55.1-1251
Wisconsin Statute Yes Wis. Stat. § 704.16 Wis. Stat. § 704.29
District of Columbia Case law Yes D.C. Code § 42-3505.07 Truitt v. Evangel Temple, Inc., 486 A.2d 1169 (D.C. 1984)
Georgia Case law Yes O.C.G.A. § 44-7-23 Peterson v. P.C. Towers, L.P., 426 S.E.2d 243 (Ga. Ct. App. 1992)
Indiana Case law Yes Ind. Code § 32-31-9 Stewart v. Walker, 597 N.E.2d 368 (Ind. Ct. App. 1992)
Maryland Case law Yes Md. Real Prop. § 8-5A-02 Wilson v. Ruhl, 277 Md. 607 (1976)
Massachusetts Case law Yes M.G.L. c. 186 § 24 Krasne v. Tedeschi, 436 Mass. 103 (2002)
Michigan Case law Yes MCL § 554.601b Froling v. Bischoff, 73 Mich. App. 496 (1977)
Minnesota Case law Yes Minn. Stat. § 504B.206 Lefto v. Hoggsbreath Enters., 581 N.W.2d 855 (Minn. 1998)
Missouri Case law Yes Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.920 Bolling Co. v. Barrington Co., 818 S.W.2d 358 (Mo. Ct. App. 1991)
New Hampshire Case law Yes RSA § 540:2 Sommers v. Comstock, 163 N.H. 130 (2011)
New Jersey Case law Yes N.J.S.A. § 46:8-9.6 Sommer v. Kridel, 74 N.J. 446 (1977)
Pennsylvania Case law Yes 68 P.S. § 250.505-B Stonehedge Square Ltd. P'ship v. Movie Merchants, Inc., 552 Pa. 412 (1998)
Utah Case law Yes Utah Code § 57-22-5.1 Reid v. Mutual of Omaha Ins. Co., 776 P.2d 896 (Utah 1989)
Washington Case law Yes RCW § 59.18.575 Hargis v. Mel-Mad Corp., 46 Wn. App. 146 (1986)
West Virginia Case law No specific statute Teller v. McCoy, 162 W. Va. 367 (1978)
Arkansas Unclear No specific statute —
Idaho Unclear No specific statute —
Louisiana Unclear Yes La. R.S. § 9:3261.1 —
North Carolina Unclear Yes N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-45.1 —
South Dakota Unclear Yes SDCL § 43-32-18.1 —
Wyoming Unclear No specific statute —
Mississippi No duty No specific statute Buchanan v. Stinson, 335 So. 2d 912 (Miss. 1976)

What Landlords Should Actually Charge

In a duty-to-mitigate state, the lease-break fee that holds up in court is the rent lost during the period the unit was reasonably vacant, plus actual re-letting costs (advertising, showing, credit checks, prorated commission). A pre-printed "two months' rent" early-termination clause is enforceable in some states (notably Florida, where § 83.595(4) lets the parties agree to a 60-day liquidated damages alternative in advance), but in many states a flat fee untethered from actual loss is unenforceable as a penalty.

Practical landlord stance: reserve the right to re-let, advertise the unit promptly at the same rent, document the days-to-fill, and bill the departing tenant only for the actual gap. That number almost always settles faster than litigating a flat fee, and it survives review under the duty to mitigate.

Sources & Methodology

Federal authorities: 50 U.S.C. § 3955 (SCRA); 34 U.S.C. § 12491 (VAWA). State authorities: cited per row. Last updated April 30, 2026. For informational purposes only — not legal advice. Lease-break questions are highly fact-specific; consult a licensed attorney in your state before refusing or charging an early-termination fee.