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

If you leave without a legal reason

1. 1

   If you leave before your lease ends, your landlord must try to limit the money lost. Your landlord does not have to show or rent your empty home before other available units.

   Source:

   1. Real Property § 8-207(a)-(b), Maryland General Assembly. Law.
   Tip.

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

2. 2

   If you wrongly leave before your lease ends, your landlord may sublet (rent to someone else) your home without telling you first. You are then second in line to owe rent for the rest of your original lease, plus other losses from the break. This holds only if your landlord tells you promptly when the new renter does not pay.

   Source:

   1. Real Property § 8-207(c), Maryland General Assembly. Law.
3. 3

   Your landlord may keep from your deposit only the amount actually lost because you left early, plus any surcharge (extra fee) the law allows. Rent your landlord gets for the home during the rest of your lease term lowers the lost future rent by the same amount.

   Source:

   1. Real Property § 8-203(f)(2), Maryland General Assembly. Law.

After you move out

4. 4

   The law gives your landlord 45 days after your tenancy (your time renting the home) ends to return your security deposit with interest. Your landlord may subtract only money it has a right to keep for damage. This does not apply if you abandoned the home, or were evicted for breaking a lease condition, before then.

   Source:

   1. Real Property § 8-203(e)(1), Maryland General Assembly. Law.
   Tip.

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

5. 5

   Say you abandoned the home, or were evicted for breaking a lease condition, before your tenancy (your time renting the home) ended. Then you may demand your security deposit. Send a written notice by first-class mail within 45 days of leaving. The notice must give your new address.

   Source:

   1. Real Property § 8-203(h)(2)(i)-(ii), Maryland General Assembly. Law.
6. 6

   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.
7. 7

   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

8. 8

   To end your lease for abuse, send your landlord a written notice by first-class mail or by hand. Say that you plan to move out. Say that you, or a legal occupant (a person who lives there with your landlord's knowledge and permission), is a victim of abuse.

   Sources:

   1. Real Property § 8-5A-02(a), Maryland General Assembly. Law.
   2. Real Property § 8-5A-01(c), Maryland General Assembly. Law.
   3. Real Property § 8-5A-03(a), Maryland General Assembly. Law.
   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.

9. 9

   Your abuse notice needs a copy of one of 3 papers. It can be a protective order for you or a legal occupant (someone living there with your landlord's permission). It can be a peace order for abuse. It can be a report by a qualified third party, such as a doctor. The report must be signed within the 60 days before your notice. Black out the abuser's name and physical description.

   Sources:

   1. Real Property § 8-5A-01(c), Maryland General Assembly. Law.
   2. Real Property § 8-5A-03(b), Maryland General Assembly. Law.
10. 10

    The law gives you 30 days after you give your landlord the abuse notice to move out. You owe rent only for the time from your notice until you move out, up to 30 days. For example, say rent is $1,000 a month and you move out 10 days after your notice. You would owe about $333. The most you could owe is about $1,000.

    Sources:

    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. Real Property § 8-5A-02(b), Maryland General Assembly. Law.
    Tip.

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

11. 11

    Say you move out less than 30 days after your abuse notice. Then you must send your landlord a signed, notarized (officially witnessed and stamped) notice that you moved out. Send it by first-class mail or hand delivery. If you do not, you owe the maximum rent, which is rent for up to 30 days after your notice.

    Source:

    1. Real Property § 8-5A-02(c)(2), Maryland General Assembly. Law.
12. 12

    If you are an active service member and get a change of assignment, what you can owe is capped. This is true if you or your spouse signed the lease. You owe rent and lawful charges already due. You also owe 30 days' rent after you give your landlord written notice and proof of the change. You also owe the cost to repair damage you caused.

    Source:

    1. Real Property § 8-212.1(b), Maryland General Assembly. Law.