Tenant wants to break the lease early — what are your options?

Strictly under the RTA, the tenant is responsible for the rent until the end of the lease term OR until the unit is re-rented, whichever comes first. But "strictly" rarely matches reality.

**Your options:**

**Option A — Hold them to the lease, mitigate damages.** You can require they pay rent until you re-rent. But you have a duty to mitigate — actively try to re-rent at a reasonable price. You can't sit on the unit and collect double.

**Option B — Accept a tenant-found replacement.** The tenant brings you a qualified replacement. You screen the replacement using your normal process. If they pass, you sign a new lease with them and the original tenant is released. This is the most common path and often the smoothest.

**Option C — Negotiate a buy-out.** Common terms: 1-2 months' rent paid by the departing tenant in exchange for release from the lease. You then re-rent on your timeline at potentially higher market rent.

**Option D — Mutual termination via N11.** Both parties sign Form N11 agreeing to end the tenancy on a specific date. Clean and final.

**What you can't do:**
- Charge a "lease break fee" beyond actual losses
- Hold the LMR deposit for anything other than the last month's rent
- Block the tenant from finding a replacement

**Practical advice:** A good tenant offering to leave is rarely worth fighting. The legal cost of holding them + the months of vacancy + the goodwill loss usually exceeds the alternative. Negotiate.

VirtualPM Legal Shield handles N11 + replacement-tenant screening at the $39/month tier. Book a free 15-minute consult.