Breaking a Lease Early in Delaware: What Are My Options?

If you leave without a legal reason

1. 1

   If you move out without a legal right and clearly show you will not return, you owe the lesser of two amounts. One is all rent for the rest of the lease. The other is rent for the time reasonably needed to re-rent, plus any gap between a fair rent and your old rent. You also owe re-renting costs and damage you caused beyond normal use. Your landlord must try to keep costs down.

   Source:

   1. 25 Del. C. § 5507(d), Delaware Code. Law.
   Tip.

   Read your lease before you decide. Check whether it lets you end it early and what penalty you must pay.

2. 2

   Your landlord can use your deposit for rent and costs you owe. If you end your lease early with written notice for a reason the law allows, fix-up and re-renting costs are at most 1 month's rent.

   Sources:

   1. 25 Del. C. § 5514(c), Delaware Code. Law.
   2. 25 Del. C. § 5314(b), Delaware Code. Law.

When you can leave early

3. 3

   You can end your lease if a job change with your present employer means a move of more than 30 miles. You can end it if you must move permanently because of your serious illness. The same goes for death or serious illness of a family member living with you. Send 30 days' written notice. The days start on the 1st of the month after your landlord gets it.

   Source:

   1. 25 Del. C. § 5314(b), Delaware Code. Law.
4. 4

   If a condition takes away a substantial part of what you rent, tell your landlord in writing. The law gives your landlord 15 days after getting your notice to fix it. If they do not, you can end your lease. Some conditions make the home unfit to live in. Others are an imminent (immediate) threat to your health, safety or welfare. For those, you can end your lease right after you give notice.

   Source:

   1. 25 Del. C. § 5306(a), Delaware Code. Law.
   Think before you call an inspector.

   You or a neighbor can ask the city to send a code inspector. Be careful: if the home is in very bad shape, the inspector can condemn it (say no one may live there). Then everyone must move out, you too, sometimes on short notice. Think about where you would go before you call.

   Tip.

   Write down each problem, every time you contacted your landlord, and the day you moved out.

   Tip.

   Keep a copy of every letter you give your landlord, and keep your mail receipt. Save the texts and emails you send your landlord, and any replies.

5. 5

   Your landlord may substantially fail to give you hot water, heat, water or electricity. Say this lasts 48 hours or more after you give actual or written notice. Then you can end your lease right away with written notice that the problem continues. The same goes for a condition that seriously breaks your lease or a housing law and takes away a substantial part of what you rent.

   Source:

   1. 25 Del. C. § 5308(a), Delaware Code. Law.

After you move out

6. 6

   The law gives your landlord 20 days after your lease ends to send you a list of damage with each repair cost. Your landlord must also pay you what is left of your deposit. If the list is not sent, that counts as admitting no payment for damage is due. If you accept a payment sent with the list, you agree to it unless you object in writing within 10 days.

   Source:

   1. 25 Del. C. § 5514(f), Delaware Code. Law.
   Tip.

   Before you leave, clean the home and take photos of how you left it.

7. 7

   Your landlord may not return your deposit, or what is left after listed damage, within 20 days after your lease ends. Then you can get double the amount kept without a legal right to it. For example, $1,000 kept means $2,000. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. 25 Del. C. § 5514(g), Delaware Code. Law.
   Tip.

   This is only an example to show how the rule works. If it goes to court, a court decides the real amount.

8. 8

   If your landlord says you owe more, a debt collector may call or write to you. The collector must tell you how much, who it is for and how to say it is wrong. You have 30 days after you get that notice to write back. Then the collector must stop trying to get that money until it answers you.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. What information does a debt collector have to give me, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
   3. What should I do when a debt collector contacts me, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
9. 9

   Your landlord can take money from your pay or benefits only after winning in court. The court must issue a judgment (the court's final decision) that you owe the debt. If you are sued, do not ignore it. You can lose the case if you do not go to court.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. Can a debt collector take or garnish my wages, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
   Tip.

   If you get court papers, do not ignore them. Go to court, or you can lose the case.

   From Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Special protections

10. 10

    You can end your lease if you are a victim of domestic abuse, sexual offenses or stalking. You can also end it if you got, or want, help from a court or a domestic violence program. If you feel safe, you can choose to go to a police agency. Photos or notes can also help. Send 30 days' written notice. The days start on the 1st of the month after your landlord gets it.

    Sources:

    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. 25 Del. C. § 5314(b), Delaware Code. Law.
11. 11

    You can end your lease if you enter United States military service on active duty after you signed your rental agreement. If a renter dies, the surviving spouse can end the lease. So can the personal representative of the estate (who handles the dead renter's property). Send 30 days' written notice. The days start on the 1st of the month after your landlord gets it.

    Source:

    1. 25 Del. C. § 5314(b), Delaware Code. Law.
12. 12

    You can end your lease if you are accepted into a senior citizens' housing facility. The same goes for a group or cooperative living facility or a retirement home. It also applies to a rental unit that a government or nonprofit group helps pay for. Send 30 days' written notice. The days start on the 1st of the month after your landlord gets it.

    Source:

    1. 25 Del. C. § 5314(b), Delaware Code. Law.