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Section 18 . 3 . 4
23 minutes

Tenant Exit: Abandonment and the Duty to Mitigate

Harvard Law School Library

A tenant who needs to exit a lease early and cannot find another party to sublet must seek out other alternatives. For example, a tenant can always ask her landlord to terminate the lease before the term ends. The tenant generally agrees to turn over the property and pay a small fee and, in return, the landlord releases the tenant from all further obligations. This is called a surrender. 

Alternatively, a tenant may simply pack her things, abandon the premise, and stop making rent payments. This often happens if a tenant cannot work out a surrender agreement or finds herself in desperate financial circumstances. What are the rights and obligations of the parties in this scenario? What happens if a tenant breaks a lease and leaves? 

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