What Is a Lease Termination Letter?
A lease termination letter lets a landlord or tenant end a periodic lease with adequate notice. It’s often used to end a month-to-month lease, but either party can use it to end a week-to-week or year-to-year lease. A landlord or tenant will often deliver this document to the other party to clarify when the property will be vacant.
If a disagreement arises with your attempt to end a lease, a court may not side with you if you didn’t use a lease exit letter and failed to provide proper notice. Ideally, you should use Legal Templates’s lease termination letter when ending a lease to give yourself adequate protection.
Lease Termination Letter vs. Eviction Notice
A lease termination letter lets a landlord or tenant end a lease when both parties follow the lease’s terms, while an eviction notice informs a tenant that they must fix a lease violation or move out. A landlord or tenant sends a lease termination letter due to changes in circumstances, while a landlord sends an eviction notice letter due to a tenant’s non-compliance.
| Factor | Lease Termination Letter | Eviction Notice |
|---|---|---|
| Initiating Party | Landlord or tenant | Landlord |
| Voluntariness | Voluntary choice to initiate but the other party must respect it | Tenant must fix the issue or move out |
| Reasons | Mutual agreement or change in circumstances | Late rent payments, noise complaints, other violations |
| Outcome | Tenant leaves on their own | Tenant leaves on their own or landlord proceeds with eviction process |
How to Write a Lease Termination Letter
These step-by-step instructions apply whether you’re a landlord or a tenant. Work with these steps and the Legal Templates document editor to write a comprehensive and accurate termination letter.
1. State Whether You’re the Tenant or Landlord
Identify your role in the agreement as either the tenant or the landlord. Our document editor makes this step easy, allowing you to identify yourself at the very beginning of the process. The wording will be updated in your final letter to reflect the parties’ identities. You also need to list information about the other party, either the tenant or the landlord.
List any other tenants in addition to the primary one to ensure all parties are aware of the lease’s end.
2. Provide Termination Details
The termination details should include a lease-end deadline. This timeline must comply with the laws of your state.
You can also include a lawful reason to end the agreement. State laws give guidance on what a legal versus an illegal reason is. As an example, a landlord lease termination letter might specify changing how they plan to use the property (legal) as a reason but not the cultural identity of the tenant (illegal).
If you don’t provide a lawful reason, the other party can challenge the termination. In this case, you would have to keep fulfilling your obligations under the contract until the dispute is resolved.
3. Reference the Original Lease Agreement
The letter should list the property address and the date of the original lease. By offering this information, you bring clarity and certainty to the letter. There will be no doubt that you and the other party know which lease you are ending.
4. Finalize Details
A lease termination letter should have a forwarding address. This tells the landlord where to send the security deposit or otherwise communicate with the tenant. You can use our document editor to indicate whether you want proof of service, which is an acknowledgment that someone has delivered the termination letter.
Tips for Writing a Lease Termination Letter?
Keep some things in mind while writing a lease termination letter:
- Document all communication: Keep a log of email, telephone, or in-person communications with the other party before and after delivering the letter to ensure they’re aware of key details.
- Communicate intent as early as possible: Tell the other party of your intent to end the lease as soon as possible to give them time to make proper arrangements.
- Keep a copy: Retain a copy of the letter for your records so you can reference it if a dispute arises.
What Should Landlords Do When Ending a Lease?
As a landlord, you have certain obligations when you end a lease. You’ll have to return the tenant’s security deposit as outlined in your state’s laws and the lease itself, usually within 14 to 30 days. Typically, landlords can keep part of the deposit for damage repair or cleaning costs if applicable.
Follow a rental inspection checklist to assess the property’s condition. This can help determine whether you need to keep part of the deposit or do any renovations before a new tenant comes in.
