How to Break a Lease with No Penalty Fees in Washington

Unfortunately, renters in Washington State looking to break their lease early don't have a lot of legal leverage. Your landlord isn't required to let you terminate your lease, except in a handful of very specific scenarios. So, even if your landlord agrees to let you out of the agreement, there's a good chance it will cost you.

But if you go into the process with a thorough knowledge of Washington State law—and a good argument for why you need to leave—there's a chance you can break a lease with a reduced (or nonexistent) fee. Read through the tactics below and decide if one or more of them could work for you.

Consider other options for getting out of your lease early

If you’re dead-set on leaving your rental without forking over some cash, your best bet is to either find a subletter or transfer your lease. Why? Except in a handful of scenarios, landlords in Washington aren’t legally required to let you out of your lease early—which means they often charge hefty lease break fees in return. So make sure you’ve weighed your options for getting out of a lease early before moving forward with the lease-breaking process.

Figure out if you can break your lease under Washington law

In Washington, there are only a few scenarios where renters are allowed to break their lease early without a landlord’s agreement. According to state and federal law, you can automatically terminate your lease if:

• You are entering active military duty
• Your landlord has refused to make a major repair and your rental has become uninhabitable
• You're the victim of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault
• You've been threatened by your landlord or a neighbor with a deadly weapon—and the confrontation resulted in an arrest

There are a lot of other valid reasons to break a lease: buying a house, relocating for a job, or being laid off. None of these are covered by the law, however. Instead, you'll need to double-check your lease.

Re-read your lease agreement

Go through your lease carefully to see if it mentions any situation where you might be allowed to terminate your lease early. There's a chance that it includes a clause about family emergencies or deaths, or even a sudden job loss or relocation. Some leases also lay out the process for ending a lease early, including how much you’ll have to pay for an early termination fee. That's allowed under state law, but the fee can't be so high it's considered unreasonable or penalizing.

Negotiate with your landlord

If your situation isn’t covered by the law or your lease, then you’ll need to talk to your landlord. Make it clear to them that the situation is out of your control. Even better if you can back up your story with hard evidence, such as a letter from an employer or a doctor's note testifying that your parents are seriously ill.

Also, try and figure out if you leaving early could actually benefit your landlord in some way. Are you improving the leasing schedule by moving out during the spring or summer? Do units in your area rent for even more now than you're currently paying? You'll probably be more successful with smaller landlords, rather than a large management company with less flexibility.

Move out and hope your landlord re-rents quickly

If your landlord's lease break fee is just way too high—and you live in an area that's popular with renters—then you may be better off relying on something called "damage mitigation." Under Washington law, a landlord is required to make a reasonable effort to re-rent as soon as they find out you're leaving. They can only charge you for the time that it wasn't occupied by a new tenant, plus any extra charges they incurred by showing or advertising the unit. (Plus, if your landlord had to price the unit lower to rent it out, you're also required to pay the difference in rent for the rest of your lease.)

If you know that you’ll be leaving a month or two in advance, you can give your landlord the heads up so they can get started showing the place. You can also search for a new tenant yourself and refer them to the landlord—if you can get someone lined up to move in as soon as you move out, you may not owe anything to your landlord at all. Just make sure the applicant is as qualified as you when it comes to income and credit history. Otherwise your landlord might have a good reason to reject them.

Make it official with paperwork

Congratulations! You've been able to work something out with your landlord. Now make sure to get it in writing. The best way to do this is to prepare a document—often called a "mutual termination of tenancy agreement"—that outlines the specifics of your arrangement with your landlord.

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