Early Lease Break & Landlord 'Duty to Mitigate' Cost Calculator
Calculate your true maximum liability when breaking a lease early—accounting for the landlord's statutory duty to re-rent the unit and prohibiting double-dipping.
1. Enter Your Case Details Runs in your browser
2. Your result Live Output
Fill in the details on the left to see the result.
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3. How the rule works
Who this is for
Tenants who have left, or plan to leave, before a fixed-term lease ends and want a realistic estimate of what the landlord can claim, and landlords estimating their recoverable loss.
The calculation is most useful in states where the landlord must try to re-rent the unit, such as California, New York and Texas.
What to have ready
- Your lease end date and monthly rent.
- The date you gave notice and the date you moved out.
- Screenshots of the landlord's listing and the asking rent.
- The names of any replacement tenants you offered.
The rule
When a tenant leaves early, the landlord can usually recover the rent lost because of the breach, but not rent it could reasonably have avoided losing. California Civil Code § 1951.2 lets the landlord recover unpaid rent minus the amount the tenant proves could have been reasonably avoided. New York Real Property Law § 227-e, added in 2019, requires a residential landlord to take reasonable and customary steps to rent the unit at fair market value. Texas Property Code § 91.006 imposes a duty to mitigate and makes a lease clause waiving it void.
In practice the landlord's loss is the rent for the period the unit sits empty, plus any shortfall if it is re-rented at a lower price, plus reasonable costs of re-letting such as advertising. The landlord cannot collect rent from both the old and new tenants for the same days.
Read the official text:
Worked example: six months left on a $2,600 lease
A tenant leaves with six months remaining. The unit is empty for one month, then re-rented at $2,500. The landlord spent $150 on listings.
Vacancy loss = 1 month x $2,600 = $2,600 Lower rent for 5 months = 5 x ($2,600 - $2,500) = $500 Re-letting costs = $150 Estimated total claim = $3,250 Compare: full remaining rent = 6 x $2,600 = $15,600
Common mistakes
- Assuming you owe every remaining month. Where mitigation applies, the claim is usually much smaller.
- Leaving without notice. Earlier notice lets the landlord start marketing while you are still there, which shortens the vacancy.
- Assuming every state requires mitigation. A few states have weaker or no duty for residential landlords.
- Ignoring an early-termination clause in the lease, which may set a fixed fee and can be cheaper than the mitigation calculation.
Limits of this tool
- Mitigation rules vary by state and the reasonableness of the landlord's efforts is a question of fact.
- The estimate does not include unpaid rent before you left or charges for damage.
- Commercial leases are often treated differently.
Sources were last checked in October 2026. Statutes are amended often; if the official text differs from this page, the official text controls.
4. Clear Next Steps & Statutory Action Plan
- Give written notice as early as possible and offer access for showings.
- Ask the landlord in writing to confirm that the unit is being advertised at a market rent; screenshot the listings.
- Offer qualified replacement tenants if you can, and keep a record of any the landlord rejects.
5. Frequently Asked Statutory Questions (Cal. Civ. Code § 1951.2; N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 227-e; Tex. Prop. Code § 91.006)
Can a landlord charge a lease-break fee and also re-rent right away?
It depends on the lease and state law. A fixed fee agreed in the lease may be enforceable as liquidated damages if it is reasonable, but a landlord generally cannot recover rent from you for days it is also collecting rent from a new tenant.
Does New York require mitigation?
Yes. Since 2019, RPL § 227-e requires residential landlords to take reasonable and customary steps to re-rent at fair market value, and the landlord bears the burden of showing it did so.
Who proves what the landlord could have avoided?
In California, § 1951.2 places that burden on the tenant. Keep evidence such as comparable listings and the date you gave notice.
Does the landlord have to accept a lower rent to re-let the unit?
The duty is to make reasonable efforts at fair market rent. A landlord does not have to accept far below market, but listing the unit far above market may not count as reasonable mitigation.
Can the landlord keep my deposit toward the remaining rent?
It can usually apply the deposit to unpaid rent owed under the lease and must account for it in the itemized statement required by your state's deposit law.