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

If you leave without a legal reason

1. 1

   If you abandon (leave for good) your home, your landlord must take it back right away. Your landlord must make reasonable efforts to rent it again at a fair rent. If a new renter's term starts before your lease ends, your lease ends on the day the new term starts. Being totally gone without telling your landlord for one full rental period or 30 days, whichever is less, counts as abandoning.

   Source:

   1. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1432(3), Nebraska Legislature. Law.
   Tip.

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

When you can leave early

2. 2

   If your landlord seriously breaks the lease, or breaks a duty that seriously affects health and safety, send your landlord a written notice. It must name what is wrong. It must say your lease ends if the problem is not fixed in 14 days. The end date must be at least 30 days after your landlord gets the notice.

   Source:

   1. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1425(1), Nebraska Legislature. 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.

3. 3

   If your landlord fixes the problem by repairs or payment before the end date in your notice, your lease does not end. If the same problem you gave notice about happens again within 6 months, give your landlord at least 14 days' written notice. It must name the problem and the end date.

   Source:

   1. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1425(1), Nebraska Legislature. Law.
4. 4

   You cannot end your lease over a problem caused by you, a member of your family, or another person in the home with your consent. This is true if it was caused on purpose or by being careless.

   Source:

   1. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1425(1), Nebraska Legislature. Law.

How to leave

5. 5

   To end a month-to-month rental, send your landlord a written notice at least 30 days before the rental date named in the notice. To end a week-to-week rental, send it at least 7 days before the end date named in the notice.

   Source:

   1. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1437(1), Nebraska Legislature. Law.

After you move out

6. 6

   Your landlord can use your prepaid rent and deposit for unpaid rent and for damage caused by you not following the lease. The law gives your landlord 14 days after your rental ends to deliver or mail you what is left and a written list of charges. When a lease ends, your landlord must return all the prepaid rent and deposit you can recover under the deposit law.

   Sources:

   1. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1416(2), Nebraska Legislature. Law.
   2. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1425(4), Nebraska Legislature. Law.
   Tip.

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

7. 7

   If your landlord is late with your deposit balance or list, you can sue. You can recover the money due, court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. If it was willful (on purpose) and not in good faith, you also get one month's rent or 2 times the deposit, whichever is less. Example: $900 rent and a $900 deposit means $900 extra. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1416(3), Nebraska Legislature. 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 get out of your lease if you or a person in your home is a victim of domestic violence. You need a court order against the person who did it, or a paper that says it happened.

    Source:

    1. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1431.01(1), Nebraska Legislature. Law.
11. 11

    To end your lease for domestic violence, give your landlord a copy of the order or certification and a written notice. The notice names the date you want the release to start, and any household members to be released with you. Pick a date at least 14 days and no more than 30 days after the day you give your landlord the papers and notice.

    Source:

    1. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1431.01(2), Nebraska Legislature. Law.
12. 12

    A tenant who gets a domestic violence release owes rent for the month in which the tenant ended the lease. The tenant and any released household member do not owe rent or damage to the home that happens after the release date. They cannot be charged a fee only because the lease ended.

    Source:

    1. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1431.01(3), Nebraska Legislature. Law.
13. 13

    A domestic violence release for one tenant does not release other tenants on the lease who are not household members of that tenant. Those other tenants keep their duties under the lease and under the landlord and tenant law.

    Source:

    1. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1431.01(5), Nebraska Legislature. Law.