How to Break a Lease in Florida?

The question of How to Break a Lease in Florida is a common question that we receive. As a renter in Florida you need to know your rights as to what you can and can’t do. The Florida Landlord Tenant Laws are very strict as to what can and can’t happen. This is for informational purposes and is not intended as legal advice. From my research on this topic this is what I have been able to learn.

Reason for breaking lease

There may possibly be a couple of instances that would allow you to break a lease in Florida, such as:

• Landlord hasn’t performed on something such as, he turned off your electricity or your rental is uninhabitable. Things that might make it uninhabitable would be that you have pests that need to exterminate but the landlord refuses to take care of the problem. You don’t have working heat in the winter or running water both hot and cold.
• Military Deployment
• Serious medical reasons caused by the rental
• Of course, with any of these you would need to make sure you have great documentation to back up your claims.
• If you want to break a lease in Florida, you should first read your lease agreement and see what clauses may be in it. Some of the possible things your lease may have in it are:
• The length of time that you have to give as notice to break your lease agreement. You must always give a written notice that you are moving out.
• May have a clause about having to pay an “early termination fee”, which in Florida is usually the equivalent of 2 months rent plus any unpaid rent until the lease is finished plus “other accrued charges” and any damages to the rental.
• It may stipulate that you will lose your deposit.
• May be required to pay all the rent due until the end of your contract because the landlord is entitled to lost rent.

What can you do?

• Talk to your landlord and see if there is some kind of agreement you can come to if you want or need to leave early.
• Negotiate with the landlord for possibly a release or buy-out on your lease agreement.
• Get any agreement you make with the landlord in writing and have it signed by both you and the Landlord. Keep a copy for your files.
• You may be able to find a friend or family member to take over your lease. You would need to clear this with the landlord. The new renters may have to pass credit checks and/or background checks but if the landlord is willing to let you out of your contract by doing this that would be most helpful.
• If you do leave, the landlord has the duty to try and rent to someone else. If he finds them before your lease is up, your obligation on paying of the remaining rent will end.

It is important to realize that Florida law does not allow for breaking a lease without good cause. As a renter you must provide good documentation as to why you are breaking your lease for reasons that are classified as good cause not just because you want to move because you don’t like the neighbors or you are buying a home.

Good cause would have to be something that the landlord is negligent in and he, the landlord, fails to comply with the provisions of your lease agreement after you have given him seven days of notice to fix something that was agreed upon in the lease agreement. If he does not comply and in your notice you indicated that you had intentions to terminate the lease if he does not comply with your request, you may be able to get out of your lease.