Florida · Breaking a Lease

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

This is not legal advice. We explain what the law says. We cannot tell you what to do in your situation. For that, talk to a lawyer. Find free legal and rent help in Florida.

Get legal help early.

Breaking a lease early is legally complicated. If you are in danger, leave and get safe first. Otherwise, talk to legal aid as soon as you can, before you move out or stop paying rent.

This page covers leaving a Florida lease early. It looks at when you can leave, what you may still owe, how to give notice, and what happens to your deposit.

If you leave without a legal reason

  1. If you move out early, your landlord can take the home back and try to re-rent it. Your landlord must try in good faith, with at least the same efforts used to rent it first. You owe the gap between your rent and the new rent. Example: your rent is $1,000 and the new renter pays $900. You owe $100 a month.

    Sources:
    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. § 83.595(2), Florida Statutes. Law.
    Tip.

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

    Tip.

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

  2. A lease can charge a fee for ending early only if you signed a separate addendum (extra page) accepting it when the lease was made. The fee cannot be more than 2 months' rent. The lease cannot require more than 60 days' notice. Your landlord may also charge for damage to the home. Your landlord may charge rent and other charges through the end of the month the landlord takes the home back.

    Source:
    1. § 83.595(4), Florida Statutes. Law.

When you can leave early

  1. If your landlord seriously fails to meet a duty in the repair law, or an important term of your lease, send a written notice. Say what is wrong and that you intend to end your lease. The law gives your landlord 7 days after delivery of your notice to fix it. If they do not, you may end your lease. If a court later disagrees, you can still owe the rent. Get legal help first.

    Sources:
    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. § 83.56(1), Florida Statutes. 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.

    From Miami-Dade County Building (Minimum Housing Standards).
    Tip.

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

  2. If your home is damaged or destroyed you may end your lease and move out at once. Your enjoyment of the home must be substantially impaired (badly hurt). You must not have caused the damage by wrongful or negligent (harmful or careless) acts. If a court later disagrees, you can still owe the rent. Get legal help first.

    Sources:
    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. § 83.63(1), Florida Statutes. Law.

How to leave

  1. Unless your written lease says otherwise, you must give your landlord at least 7 days' written notice before you leave. Send it by certified mail (mail that needs a signature) or in person. Include the address where you can be reached. Save texts and emails as well. If you skip the notice, your landlord does not have to send a deposit claim notice, but you keep any right to your deposit.

    Sources:
    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. § 83.49(5), Florida Statutes. Law.
    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.

After you move out

  1. If your landlord will not claim any of your deposit, the law gives your landlord 15 days after your lease ends to return it. If your landlord wants to claim part of it, the law gives 30 days after your lease ends to send you a written notice. It goes by certified mail or email. If that deadline is missed, your landlord loses the right to take money from the deposit but may still sue.

    Source:
    1. § 83.49(3)(a), Florida Statutes. Law.
    Tip.

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

  2. Say your landlord sends a written notice that claims part of your deposit. The law gives you 15 days after you get it to object in writing. If you do not, your landlord may take the claim out of your deposit. The rest is due within 30 days after the date of the notice. You can still bring a separate case.

    Source:
    1. § 83.49(3)(a), The Florida Senate. Law.

  3. 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.

  4. 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

  1. A servicemember (a member of the military) can end a lease with written notice. One case is orders to a new base (permanent change of station) 35 miles or more away. The end date must be at least 30 days after your landlord gets the notice. Attach a copy of the orders or a letter signed by your commanding officer. If a court later disagrees, you can still owe the rent. Get legal help first.

    Sources:
    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. § 83.682(1), Florida Statutes. Law.

  2. If you end your lease under the military rule, you owe only the rent prorated (counted by the days used) to the end date. You owe no other rent or money a court awards for leaving early. Example: your rent is $1,000 in a 30-day month and your lease ends on the 15th. You owe about $500. If your landlord sues and wins, you can still owe the money. Get legal help first.

    Sources:
    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. § 83.682(4), Florida Statutes. Law.
    Tip.

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

Published by Nazanin, October 28, 2026. Sources checked October 26, 2026. Is something on this page wrong or out of date? Tell us.