What Are Some General Ways to End a Tenancy Agreement?

A residential tenancy legally ends in one of eight ways: the lease term expires, you or the tenant gives written notice ending a month-to-month tenancy, you both agree to end it, the tenant leaves early, unrepaired defects make the unit unlivable, the tenant abandons the unit, the tenant dies, or a court evicts the tenant for cause. State law sets the notice for each path. Florida, for example, requires 30 days' written notice to end a month-to-month tenancy, while California requires landlords to give 60 days once every tenant has lived in the unit for a year or more. If a tenant stays after the tenancy ends, only a court eviction case can remove them.

Which ways can a tenancy end, and what notice does each need?

Many cities add their own rules on top of state law, especially rent-control cities. Check your city's ordinance before you serve any notice.

Lease expiration and month-to-month notice

A fixed-term lease ends on its end date. In California it expires automatically unless the lease says otherwise, and New York requires you to give 30, 60, or 90 days' written notice, based on the longer of the tenant's occupancy or lease term, if you do not plan to renew. If you accept rent after the end date, California and New York both treat the tenant as month-to-month; in California the old lease's other terms carry over. What happens when a fixed-term lease expires covers renewal offers, non-renewal notices, and holdovers.

A month-to-month tenancy continues until the landlord or tenant gives the notice required for that party:

• California: tenants generally give 30 days' written notice. Landlords give 30 days if any tenant or resident has lived there less than a year, 60 days if all have lived there a year or more, and 90 days for a tenancy with government rental assistance.
• Florida: at least 30 days before the end of a monthly rental period.
• Texas: one month, unless you and the tenant signed an agreement setting a different period.
• New York: landlords give 30, 60, or 90 days' written notice, based on the longer of occupancy or lease length, the same scale as a lease non-renewal. Tenants outside New York City give one month's notice.

In some states and cities you also need a legal reason from a list in the law, often called "just cause." California's Tenant Protection Act requires it once a tenant has lived in a covered unit for 12 months. For a covered no-fault termination, you must pay relocation assistance equal to one month's rent or waive the final month's rent, and state the tenant's entitlement in the notice. Oregon requires a cause or a qualifying landlord reason after the first year. New Jersey's Anti-Eviction Act bars refusing to renew without good cause, except in owner-occupied buildings with 2 or 3 units. New York's Good Cause Eviction Law covers New York City and cities that opt in. How to end a month-to-month rental agreement explains how to word and serve the notice.

Ending a tenancy by mutual agreement

You and the tenant can end any tenancy early on a date you both accept. Put it in a signed agreement that states the move-out date, the rent owed through that date, any payment you are making to the tenant, and when keys are due. State law sets when the deposit refund period starts; in Texas, for example, it runs from the date the tenant surrenders the unit.

When a tenant leaves before the lease ends

A tenant who simply breaks a lease usually still owes rent until the unit is re-rented or the lease ends, whichever comes first. Texas and New Jersey require you to make reasonable efforts to re-rent, and a Texas lease cannot waive that duty. Florida instead lets you choose among remedies, including an early termination fee of up to 2 months' rent if the tenant signed a separate addendum agreeing to it. What to do when a tenant breaks the lease covers your options.

Some tenants have a legal right to leave early without owing future rent:

• Military service. Under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a tenant may end a lease after entering military service, or after receiving orders for a permanent change of station or a deployment of 90 days or more. The tenant must give written notice with a copy of the orders. For monthly rent, the lease ends 30 days after the next rent due date following the notice. If notice arrives March 10 and rent is due April 1, the lease ends May 1. You may not charge an early termination fee, and you must refund rent paid for any period after that date within 30 days.
• Domestic violence. California lets a victim end a lease with 14 days' written notice and a protective order, police report, or statement from a qualified third party; the tenant owes rent for those 14 days. New York requires 30 days' notice, with documentation due within 25 days of the notice. In New Jersey, termination takes effect 30 days after the landlord receives the notice and required documents. Texas generally requires 30 days' written notice, the required documents, and moving out. A qualifying Texas tenant whose abuser is a cotenant or occupant can terminate without advance notice after providing the required documents and moving out.
• Other protected reasons. New York and New Jersey also let some older tenants end a lease to move into care facilities or senior housing, and New Jersey covers disabling illness with 40 days' notice.

Unlivable conditions and abandoned units

If a serious health or safety defect goes unrepaired after the tenant asks in writing, many states let the tenant move out and stop paying rent. In Texas, the tenant must be current on rent when giving each required repair notice. A second written notice is required after a reasonable repair period unless the first used certified mail with return receipt requested, registered mail, or other mail with delivery tracking. If you fail to make a diligent repair effort after a reasonable time following receipt of each required notice (presumed to be 7 days), the tenant may end the lease and is owed prorated rent and the deposit. California's version usually treats 30 days as a reasonable repair time, though less may apply to a broken furnace in winter. In New York, a tenant may cancel the lease if fire or other damage the tenant did not cause makes the unit uninhabitable, unless the lease says otherwise. Can a tenant move out due to bad conditions covers the notice and repair windows.

When a tenant seems to have moved out without notice, do not change the locks on a guess. In California, if rent is at least 14 days late and you reasonably believe the tenant has left, you may serve a notice of belief of abandonment giving 15 days to respond if delivered in person or 18 days if mailed. If the tenant does not respond, the tenancy ends and you can re-rent. If you are wrong and the tenant has not moved out, the tenant can sue for wrongful eviction.

When a tenant dies

A tenant's death does not always end the lease. In California, the tenant's estate owes rent for the rest of a fixed term, but you must make a good-faith effort to re-rent to reduce what the estate owes. A month-to-month tenancy there ends 30 days after the tenant's last rent payment before death, with no notice needed beyond word of the death. In Texas, the estate's representative can end the lease of a tenant who lived alone with written notice; it takes effect after 30 days or once the property is removed, whichever is later. Texas also lets you ask each tenant in writing for an emergency contact who may remove belongings if the tenant dies.

Eviction for cause

When a tenant does not pay rent, seriously violates the lease, or uses the unit illegally, you end the tenancy with the notice your state requires and then a court case if the tenant stays. California uses a 3-day notice to pay rent or quit, or a 3-day notice to fix a lease violation or quit. For both notices, start counting after the day service is completed, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and court holidays. Under New York's Good Cause Eviction Law, a lease violation needs a written notice giving 10 days to fix it. Florida gives a tenant 7 days to cure most lease violations.

If the tenant does not leave, a court judgment and an officer carrying out the court's order remove them. In California, the sheriff gives the tenant 5 days after serving the court's order before the lockout. California and New York both prohibit lockouts, and New York also bars removing a tenant's belongings or cutting off heat or water to force a tenant out. The steps for eviction proceedings walk through filing through the final order.

What you owe the tenant when any tenancy ends

However the tenancy ends, three duties follow:

1. Offer a move-out inspection where required. In California, within a reasonable time after either side gives written notice to end the tenancy (or before a fixed term ends), you must tell the tenant in writing that they may request an inspection before moving out. A requested inspection happens no earlier than 2 weeks before move-out, with 48 hours' written notice, and you must list the repairs or cleaning that could be deducted. New York gives tenants the same right to ask for an inspection and to be present. California also requires photos of the unit after the tenant leaves and again after repairs, before you deduct for them.
2. Return the deposit on time with an itemized list of deductions. Missing the deadline can cost you the right to deduct anything.

3. Handle belongings by your state's procedure. Do not discard what a tenant left until you have followed your state's notice and storage rules. In California, every 30-day, 60-day, or 90-day notice must include a statement about reclaiming property, and belongings left after a sheriff's lockout may be sold or, if worth less than $700, kept after notice. How to handle abandoned personal property explains the notice and storage steps, and what to write in the move-out letter covers the instructions to send before move-out day.