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An early lease termination letter is a tenant's request to leave early. The letter names your move-out date and gives you and your landlord a dated written copy of the request. Tenants need one before moving out mid-lease, especially after a job relocation.
Below you can build the letter online or download a free, editable early lease termination letter template, read a filled-in sample, and see how much notice a tenant gives in the states our data covers. For other ways to end a tenancy, see the main lease termination letter page.
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A sample early lease termination letter shows each part in order: the date, both addresses, the lease details, your move-out date, a short reason, deposit instructions and your signature. Use the sample below as a model and replace every name, date and address with your own.
Sample letter to a landlord to terminate a lease early
March 3, 2027
Daniel Jensen
1 Lander St.
Olympia, WA 98501
Re: Early termination of the lease between Daniel Jensen and Maria Lopez, signed August 1, 2026, for 420 Pine Street, Apartment 3B, Olympia, WA 98502
Dear Mr. Jensen,
This letter is my written request to end my lease before its end date. My employer is transferring me to another city, and I would like my last day at the apartment to be April 30, 2027.
I am glad to discuss the early termination terms in my lease, help show the unit to new tenants, or talk about a sublease if that works better for you.
Please send my security deposit to my new address: 88 Harbor Road, Tacoma, WA 98403.
Thank you for your understanding.
Sincerely,
Maria Lopez
Keep the tone polite and the facts short. A landlord who reads a clear request is more likely to agree on a date, a buyout or a replacement tenant.
This letter fits a tenant who needs to leave a fixed-term lease before its end date and wants the request in writing. The letter starts the conversation; your lease and your local rules decide what leaving early costs.
Tenants write this letter for many personal and practical reasons, such as:
Whatever the reason, the decision to send the letter is yours. What happens to your deposit and your remaining rent depends on the terms of your lease agreement and on the rules where the home is.
If your lease has already ended or your tenancy runs month to month, you are not ending anything early: you are giving ordinary notice to end the tenancy. The notice table below covers that case. A landlord who wants a tenant out uses a landlord's notice, not this letter.
An early lease termination letter should include the date, the landlord's name and address, the lease details, your requested last day, a reason, deposit instructions and your signature. Each item answers a question your landlord would otherwise ask you.
To terminate a lease early, read your lease's early termination clause, talk with your landlord about the terms, and then send a written letter that confirms them. Following these steps in order helps protect your deposit and keeps the move on good terms.
Step 1: Read your lease agreement.
Look for a clause on early termination, notice, subletting or assignment. Some leases set a fee or a notice period for leaving early, and some say how notices are delivered. Your letter should follow those terms.
Step 2: Talk with your landlord before you send the letter.
Call or meet your landlord first and explain why you need to leave. Then talk through these points:
Step 3: Send the letter.
Put your request and any agreed terms in the letter, sign it, and deliver it in a way you can prove later. The steps below walk through the template blank by blank.
A tenant's notice to end a month-to-month tenancy differs from state to state, and each row below cites the statute that sets it. These rules apply when your tenancy runs month to month or at will; a fixed-term lease follows its own terms for leaving early.
The table lists states whose statute gives a notice period that a tenant or either party can use, with the section named in each row. If your state is not listed, this page states no tenant rule for it, so read your state's landlord and tenant statute and your lease.
| State | Tenant's notice | Applies when | Statute |
| Alabama | Written notice at least 30 days before the periodic rental date named in the notice | Month-to-month tenancy, landlord or tenant | Ala. Code § 35-9A-441 |
| Alaska | Written notice at least 30 days before the rental due date named in the notice | Month-to-month tenancy, landlord or tenant | Alaska Stat. § 34.03.290 |
| Arizona | Written notice at least thirty days prior to the periodic rental date named in the notice | Month-to-month tenancy, landlord or tenant | Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1375 |
| Arkansas | Written notice at least thirty (30) days before the termination date named in the notice | Month-to-month tenancy, landlord or tenant | Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-704 |
| District of Columbia | A 30-day notice in writing, only from the tenant to the housing provider; it expires on the first day of the first month at least 30 days after its date | Residential tenancy | D.C. Code § 42-3202(b) |
| Georgia | 30 days' notice from the tenant (the landlord gives sixty days) | Tenancy at will | O.C.G.A. § 44-7-7 |
| Iowa | Written notice at least thirty days prior to the periodic rental date named in the notice | Month-to-month tenancy, landlord or tenant | Iowa Code § 562A.34 |
| Kansas | Written notice that the tenancy ends on a rent-paying date not less than 30 days after the notice is received | Month-to-month tenancy; except that not more than 15 days' written notice is needed when the tenant is in the military service of the United States and military orders require the move | K.S.A. § 58-2570 |
| Kentucky | Written notice at least thirty (30) days before the periodic rental date named in the notice | Month-to-month tenancy, only where the city, county or urban-county government has enacted the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act | Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.695 |
| Louisiana | Notice ten calendar days before the end of that month | Month-to-month lease | La. Civ. Code art. 2728 |
| Maine | A minimum of 30 days' notice in writing, from either party | Tenancy at will, except as provided in subsections 2 and 4 of the section | Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, § 6002 |
| Massachusetts | Three months' notice in writing from either party; if rent is payable at periods of less than three months, notice equal to the interval between the days of payment or thirty days, whichever is longer | Estate (tenancy) at will | Mass. G.L. c. 186, § 12 |
| Mississippi | Written notice at least thirty (30) days prior to the termination date | Month-to-month tenancy, landlord or tenant | Miss. Code Ann. § 89-8-19(3) |
| Missouri | One month's notice, in writing, from either party | Tenancies the section covers | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 441.060 |
| Montana | At least 30 days' notice in writing prior to the termination date named in the notice | Month-to-month tenancy, landlord or tenant | Mont. Code Ann. § 70-24-441 |
| Nebraska | Written notice at least thirty days prior to the periodic rental date named in the notice | Month-to-month tenancy, landlord or tenant | Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1437 |
| Ohio | Notice at least thirty days prior to the periodic rental date | Month-to-month tenancy, landlord or tenant | Ohio Rev. Code § 5321.17 |
| Oklahoma | Written notice at least thirty (30) days before the date the termination takes effect | Month-to-month tenancy or tenancy at will, except as otherwise provided in the Oklahoma Residential Landlord and Tenant Act | Okla. Stat. tit. 41, § 111 |
| Rhode Island | Written notice, in a form substantially similar to § 34-18-56(c), delivered at least thirty (30) days before the date named in the notice | Month-to-month tenancy, or a periodic tenancy for more than a month or less than a year | R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-37 |
| Tennessee | Written notice at least thirty (30) days prior to the periodic rental date named in the notice | Month-to-month tenancy, landlord or tenant | Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-512 |
| Vermont | Actual notice at least one rental payment period before the termination date named in the notice | Unless inconsistent with a written rental agreement or otherwise provided by law | 9 V.S.A. § 4456 |
| Virginia | Written notice at least 30 days prior to the next rent due date | Month-to-month tenancy, unless the rental agreement provides a different notice period | Va. Code § 55.1-1253 |
| Washington | Written notice of 20 days or more before the end of a month or period of tenancy | When premises are rented for an indefinite time with monthly or other periodic rent | Wash. Rev. Code § 59.18.200(1)(a) |
To find the last day of a notice period counted in days, try FormsPal's deadline calculator. For the rules in one state, open that state's lease agreement page.
In Texas, if the rent-paying period is at least one month, a notice of termination ends the tenancy on the later of the day given in the notice or one month after the day the notice is given (Tex. Prop. Code § 91.001).
Each row follows the wording of the statute named in it. They do not replace your own lease, so check both before you pick a move-out date.
Some states let a tenant end a tenancy on shorter notice, or with set costs, when military orders or domestic violence force the move. A servicemember on military orders should also read the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, which applies across the country and which this page does not summarize. The rules below are the ones FormsPal's verified data holds; each applies only in the situation its section describes.
Under Mich. Comp. Laws § 554.601a, a rental agreement shall let a tenant who has occupied a rental unit for more than 13 months end the lease by a 60-day written notice to the landlord, but only if one of the events that section lists occurs.
The template has four parts to complete: the heading, the subject line, the body of the letter, and the deposit instructions with your signature. Download the file first, then work through each step below in order. Fill in each blank before you print the letter.
Step 1: Download the lease termination letter template.
Choose the file that is compatible with your computer:
Step 2: Fill out the heading.
For the first part of the letter, type the following:
For blanks 3 to 4, you may add the necessary details to make the address more accurate.
Step 3: Indicate the subject of the letter.
Below the date and the address, fill out the first line, which starts with “Re:” (short for “Regarding”). Enter these details in order:
Step 4: Write the body of the letter.
Step 5: Write instructions for the security deposit and sign the letter.
Send the letter by hand delivery with a signed receipt or by certified mail, and keep a copy, so you can prove the date your landlord received it. Your lease may also name an address or a method for notices; use it.
Hand the letter to your landlord or their representative and ask to receive a signed copy as proof. You can also send it by certified mail. Keep your own copy and any receipt, so you can show when you sent it.
Your letter's deposit box is also where you give a forwarding address, and some states tie the refund to it.
Write a short, dated letter to your landlord that names the lease, the rental address, your requested last day, your reason and where to send your deposit, then sign it. The sample and the step-by-step guide above show each part, and the template has a blank for each one.
Yes, it usually helps. Contact your landlord by phone or in person first, and ask about the deposit, the move-out date, a buyout, subletting or a lease assignment. Then write any agreed terms into the letter so nothing in it comes as a surprise.
You can ask to leave a 12-month lease early at any time, and your lease's early termination clause or your landlord's agreement decides the terms. A buyout, a sublease or a replacement tenant are the usual ways to settle it, and some states add rules for military orders and domestic violence, listed above. A servicemember on military orders should also read the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
Check your lease first: many leases say how notices are delivered, and an email may not meet that clause. A signed paper letter, handed over with a receipt or sent by certified mail, gives you the clearest proof of the date.
No, the letter is your one-sided request, while a lease termination agreement is a document both you and your landlord sign to release each other. Once the landlord accepts your request, you can ask to put the agreed terms in a signed agreement.
If you rent month to month, you end the tenancy with ordinary notice rather than an early termination request. The table above lists the tenant's notice in each state our data covers, with the statute for each row.
General information, not legal or tax advice.
