Early Lease Termination in Texas

Statutory rights to end a lease early

• Family violence (§92.016): a tenant may terminate and avoid liability for future rent after providing qualifying documentation (such as a protective order, or documentation from a licensed health care or mental health provider or a family-violence advocate) and written notice, on the timeline in §92.016(c).
• Military service (§92.017): a servicemember or dependent may terminate if the servicemember entered military service after signing, or received permanent change of station orders or orders to deploy with a unit for 90 days or more, by delivering written notice and a copy of the orders or other government documentation.
• Certain sex offenses or stalking (§92.0161): a separate section gives a similar right to vacate and avoid liability. Read the linked text for its requirements.
• Death of a sole tenant (§92.0162): a representative of the estate may terminate by written notice; termination is effective on the later of 30 days after notice or when the property-removal conditions are met.

Military termination timing and refunds (§92.017)

• For monthly rent, termination is effective on the 30th day after the first rent due date following delivery of the notice.
• The landlord must refund rent or other amounts paid in advance for any period after termination within 30 days after the effective date.
• If the lease does not include language substantially equivalent to “Tenants may have special statutory rights to terminate the lease early in certain situations involving family violence or a military deployment or transfer,” a tenant who terminates under §92.017 is released from delinquent unpaid rent owed on the termination date (§92.017(g)).

If you leave without a statutory right

• A landlord has a duty to mitigate damages if a tenant abandons the premises in violation of the lease, and a lease provision that purports to waive that duty is void (§91.006).
• If a tenant never moves in and a satisfactory replacement tenant occupies the unit on or before the lease start date, §92.1031 limits what the landlord may keep from a deposit or rent prepayment (an agreed lease cancellation fee or actual reletting expenses if the landlord found the replacement).

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Tex. Prop. Code § 92.016 (official text)
• Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0161 (official text)
• Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0162 (official text)
• Tex. Prop. Code § 92.017 (official text)
• Tex. Prop. Code § 91.006 (official text)
• Tex. Prop. Code § 92.1031 (official text)