When a Tenant Can End a Lease Early in California: Abuse, Military Orders and Everything Else

For Owners · Leasing & Compliance · October 2026 · 14 min read

Eight months into a twelve-month lease, a tenant hands you a letter saying she is moving out in two weeks. Attached is a copy of a protective order. Another tenant emails a scan of his orders: he has been reassigned out of state and wants to be released. A third simply stops paying and leaves. All three broke a lease early. California treats them very differently, and the owner who handles the first two like the third can end up owing damages instead of collecting them.

This guide walks through the rules that let a tenant end a lease early without penalty, what the tenant has to give you, what you can and cannot charge, the lock-change and privacy duties that come with an abuse notice, and how ordinary early move-outs work when no special rule applies. Everything here comes from the statutes themselves, which are linked at the end.

Civil Code 1946.7: who can end a lease early

Section 1946.7 lets a tenant give notice to terminate if the tenant, a household member or an immediate family member was the victim of any of these:

• Domestic violence, as defined in Family Code section 6211.
• Sexual assault, as defined in the listed Penal Code sections.
• Stalking, as defined in Civil Code section 1708.7.
• Human trafficking, as defined in Penal Code section 236.1.
• Abuse of an elder or a dependent adult.
• A crime that caused bodily injury or death.
• A crime that included the exhibition, drawing, brandishing or use of a firearm or other deadly weapon or instrument.
• A crime that included the use of force or a threat of force against the victim.

The last three items are broad. A tenant who was robbed at knifepoint in a parking garage across town, or whose adult child was assaulted, may qualify. The person harmed does not have to be the tenant.

The statute defines the relationships. A household member is a member of the tenant’s family who lives in the same unit. An immediate family member is a parent, stepparent, spouse, child, child-in-law, stepchild or sibling of the tenant, or anyone living in the tenant’s household at the time of the act whose relationship with the tenant is substantially similar to a family member’s.

What the notice has to include

The notice must be in writing, and one of these must be attached:

1. A copy of a temporary restraining order, emergency protective order or protective order that protects the tenant, household member or immediate family member.
2. A copy of a written report by a peace officer stating that the person has filed a report alleging they are a victim of one of the listed acts or crimes.
3. Documentation from a qualified third party, in substantially the form the statute prints: a signed statement by the tenant and a signed statement by the third party. Qualified third parties include licensed physicians, nurses, psychologists, psychiatrists, clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists and professional clinical counselors, as well as domestic violence counselors, sexual assault counselors, human trafficking caseworkers and victim of violent crime advocates. A counselor, caseworker or advocate’s statement must be on the letterhead of the organization they work with.
4. Any other form of documentation that reasonably verifies the act or crime occurred.

The tenant chooses which one to provide. You do not get to require a police report when the tenant has given you a qualified third party statement.

The timing window

The notice must be given within 180 days of the date the order was issued, the date the police report was made, or the date the act or crime occurred. The statute also allows notice “within the time period described in Section 1946,” which is the ordinary notice period for ending a periodic tenancy.

The extra statement for a family member who lived elsewhere

If the victim is an immediate family member who did not live with the tenant, and no part of the act or crime happened in the tenant’s unit or within 1,000 feet of it, the tenant must also attach a written statement saying three things: the family member was a victim, the tenant intends to relocate because of it, and the tenant is relocating to increase the safety, physical, emotional or psychological well-being, or financial security of the tenant or the family member.

What the tenant owes after giving notice

This is the part to get right. Once a valid notice is given, the tenant is responsible for rent for no more than 14 calendar days after the notice, or a shorter period if section 1946 or the lease provides one. The tenant is released without penalty from any further rent or other payment under the lease.

If you re-rent the unit before those 14 days run out, the rent the departing tenant owes is prorated. You cannot collect twice for the same days.

Three more rules apply:

• The deposit. You cannot require the tenant to forfeit any security deposit or advance rent because of the termination. The ordinary deposit law still applies to everything else, so normal deductions for unpaid rent within the 14 days, cleaning to move-in condition and damage beyond ordinary wear and tear are handled the usual way, with the itemized statement due within 21 calendar days after the tenant vacates. Our security deposit guide covers those steps.
• Not a breach. A tenant who terminates under 1946.7 is not considered to have breached the lease for any purpose because of the termination. Do not report it as a broken lease to a screening company or a future landlord.
• Future applications. An owner or agent cannot refuse to rent to an otherwise qualified applicant, or refuse to continue renting to an existing tenant, solely because the person previously used this section.

What happens to the other tenants on the lease

Section 1946.7 releases the tenant who gave the notice and the members of that tenant’s household. It does not release anyone else. If two unrelated roommates signed the lease and one leaves under 1946.7, the other remains bound by the lease.

In practice that remaining tenant may not be able to carry the full rent alone. That is a conversation to have in writing, with options such as a replacement roommate you screen and approve, or a negotiated end date. What you cannot do is pass the departing tenant’s share back to the person who used the statute.

Privacy: what you can verify and who you can tell

A landlord may not disclose any information a tenant provides under 1946.7 to a third party unless the tenant consents in writing or the disclosure is required by law or court order. That includes the other tenants in the building, the departing tenant’s co-signer, a reference caller and the property’s vendors.

You are allowed to contact the qualified third party who signed the documentation to verify its contents. The statute says that contact is not a disclosure. Keep the call to confirming the document, and keep the notice and its attachments in a restricted file rather than the general tenant folder.

The consequences are real. A landlord or agent who violates section 1946.7 is liable for the tenant’s actual damages plus statutory damages of $100 to $5,000. Statutory damages do not apply where the tenant’s only documentation was the catch-all “any other form” category, but actual damages still do.

Lock changes before the tenant moves

A tenant in this position may not move out right away, and the first request you get may be for new locks. Two Civil Code sections govern that request.

Section 1941.5: the person is not a tenant of the unit

When someone who is not a tenant of the same unit is alleged to have committed abuse or violence against the tenant or a household or immediate family member, the landlord must change the locks at the landlord’s own expense within 24 hours after the tenant makes a written request with one of the same kinds of documentation, and give the tenant a key. “Locks” means any exterior lock that provides access to the dwelling.

If you do not change them within 24 hours, the tenant may change them without your permission, whatever the lease says. The tenant has to do the work in a workmanlike manner with locks of similar or better quality, tell you within 24 hours, and get you a key by a reasonable method you agree on. You then have 21 days to reimburse the tenant’s cost. This self-help right applies to leases signed on or after January 1, 2011.

Section 1941.6: the restrained person is a co-tenant

When the person restrained by a court order is a tenant of the same unit, the protected tenant can request a lock change by giving you a copy of a court order, issued within the last 180 days, that excludes the restrained person from the unit. The same 24-hour deadline, landlord expense, tenant self-help and 21-day reimbursement rules apply.

Two provisions protect the owner here. You are not liable to the excluded person for the lock change, notwithstanding the lockout statute in section 789.3. And the excluded person remains liable under the lease, along with the other tenants, for rent.

Because 24 hours is short, line up a locksmith before you need one, and make sure whoever answers your maintenance line knows that a written lock-change request with a protective order attached goes to the front of the queue.

When the tenant stays: eviction protections

Not every victim wants to leave. Code of Civil Procedure section 1161.3 says a landlord may not terminate or refuse to renew a tenancy based on an act of abuse or violence against the tenant, an immediate family member or a household member once the landlord has received documentation of it.

There are two narrow exceptions. The first is where the perpetrator is a tenant in residence of the same unit, in which case the court follows a separate procedure under section 1174.27. The second requires both of these: the perpetrator’s words or actions have threatened the physical safety of other tenants, guests, invitees or licensees, and the tenant continues to permit the perpetrator on the premises after a three-day notice requiring the tenant not to. If neither exception applies, the tenant has a complete defense to an eviction based on the abuse.

Section 1161.3 also carries the same written-consent rule on disclosure, and it protects the landlord from liability to other tenants for actions that arise from complying with it.

Calling the police is protected too

Civil Code section 1946.8 voids any lease clause that limits a tenant’s or resident’s right to call law enforcement or emergency help as a victim of abuse, a victim of crime or a person in an emergency, where the caller believes that help is needed. A landlord cannot impose or threaten fees, fines, termination, nonrenewal or worse terms because of such a call, including a call someone else made on the tenant’s behalf. If an eviction is filed within 30 days of the call and the notice treats the call itself as a lease violation or nuisance, the tenant gets a rebuttable presumption of a defense, which the owner can overcome only by showing another reason was a substantial motivating factor for the filing. Check older lease forms and house rules for “excessive police calls” language and remove it.

Military orders: the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act

The second statutory route out of a lease is federal. Section 3955 of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. 3955) lets a servicemember terminate a residential lease in three situations:

• The lease was signed before the tenant entered military service.
• The tenant signed the lease while in military service and then received orders for a permanent change of station, or to deploy with a military unit or as an individual in support of a military operation, for at least 90 days.
• The tenant signed the lease after receiving such orders and then received a stop movement order of at least 30 days, or indefinite, that prevents occupancy.

“Military orders” includes official orders, orders for separation or retirement, and any notification, certification or verification from the servicemember’s commanding officer about current or future duty status. A permanent change of station includes separation or retirement. So a tenant who is leaving the service may qualify, and a letter from a commanding officer can be enough.

How the notice works

The tenant delivers written notice and a copy of the orders to you or your agent. The statute allows hand delivery, a private carrier, mail with return receipt requested, or electronic delivery, including email to an address you designated or posting to a tenant portal both sides can access.

When the lease actually ends

For a lease with monthly rent, termination is effective 30 days after the first date the next rent payment is due after the notice is delivered. If rent is due on the first and the notice arrives on October 10, the next rent is due November 1, and the lease ends December 1. For any other rent schedule, the lease ends on the last day of the month after the month the notice was delivered. A stop movement termination is effective as soon as the notice requirements are met.

What you can and cannot charge

• Rent unpaid for the period before the effective date is paid on a prorated basis.
• No early termination charge of any kind.
• The tenant still owes taxes, other obligations due under the lease and reasonable charges for excess wear that are due and unpaid at termination.
• Rent paid in advance for any period after the effective date must be refunded within 30 days of the effective date.
• The servicemember’s termination also ends any obligation a dependent has under the same lease.

The spouse or a dependent can terminate within one year after the servicemember dies in military service, and within one year of a catastrophic injury or illness incurred in service, the servicemember, or the spouse or a dependent if the servicemember lacks capacity, can terminate.

Holding a servicemember’s deposit or belongings to cover rent for the period after a lawful termination is a federal misdemeanor punishable by a fine, imprisonment for up to one year, or both. An owner who believes the termination is unfair can apply to a court for relief, but only before the termination date in the notice.

Every other early move-out: Civil Code 1951.2

A tenant who leaves early without a statutory right is in breach. California does not let the owner sit on an empty unit and bill the remaining months. Under Civil Code section 1951.2, when a tenant breaches and abandons the property before the end of the term, the lease terminates, and the owner can recover:

• Unpaid rent already earned when the lease terminated.
• Rent lost after termination, minus the amount the tenant proves could reasonably have been avoided.
• Rent for the balance of the term after a court award, again minus what the tenant proves could reasonably be avoided, but only if the lease expressly provides for it or the owner re-let the property and proves it acted reasonably and in good faith to mitigate.
• Other amounts needed to compensate for the detriment the breach caused.

The practical meaning is simple. Start marketing the unit promptly, at a market rent, and document what you did: listing dates, showings, applications, the date a new lease starts. Section 1951.2 says your efforts to mitigate do not waive your right to recover damages. The burden of proving what could have been avoided is on the tenant, but your file is what answers that argument.

Before re-renting, make sure the unit has actually been surrendered or abandoned. If the tenant left belongings or did not clearly hand back possession, follow the notice process in our abandoned property guide first. If the departing tenant is behind, our rent collection guide covers what a demand can and cannot include. If the unit is under a local rent ordinance, check your city’s vacancy and registration rules before you set the next rent; our Inglewood, Culver City and Beverly Hills pages summarize them.

If your lease has a fixed lease-break fee, have an attorney look at whether it would hold up. A charge cannot be imposed on a 1946.7 or SCRA termination at all, and its enforceability against an ordinary breach depends on how it was written.

An owner’s checklist

• Train whoever opens your mail and email to route any notice mentioning a protective order, police report or military orders to you the same day.
• On a 1946.7 notice, confirm the attachment is one of the four permitted kinds and the 180-day window, calculate the 14-day rent cutoff, and stop any automatic rent charges after it.
• Do not ask for a different kind of documentation than the tenant chose. If you need to verify a third party statement, call the signer and confirm only the document.
• Store the notice and attachments in a restricted file. Share nothing without the tenant’s written consent.
• Handle the deposit on the normal 21-day timeline with no deduction for the early termination itself.
• On a written lock-change request with documentation, change exterior locks within 24 hours at your cost, or reimburse the tenant within 21 days if they did it.
• Remove any lease or house-rule language penalizing calls to police or emergency services.
• On military orders, compute the effective date from the next rent due date, refund advance rent within 30 days, and charge no termination fee.
• For every other early move-out, confirm surrender, market the unit right away and keep a dated record of every step.

Questions owners ask

Can I ask for a police report instead of a counselor’s letter?

No. Section 1946.7 lists four kinds of documentation and the tenant can attach any one of them. You may call the qualified third party who signed a statement to verify it, but you cannot insist on a different form.

Does a 1946.7 notice work on a month-to-month tenancy?

Yes. The section applies to a lease or a rental agreement. On a month-to-month tenancy the 14-day cap can shorten what the tenant would otherwise owe under the ordinary 30-day notice rule.

The tenant gave notice and I re-rented the unit ten days later. What does she owe?

Rent for those ten days at most. The statute prorates the 14-day obligation when the unit is re-let before it ends.

A servicemember signed the lease after getting orders to report to a base near LA. Can he use the SCRA to leave early?

Not on that fact alone. Section 3955 covers a lease signed before entering service, a lease signed in service followed by new orders for a permanent change of station or a deployment of at least 90 days, or a stop movement order after orders. Later separation or retirement orders count as a permanent change of station, so read the orders he gives you.

Can I keep part of the deposit as a lease-break fee?

Not on a 1946.7 or SCRA termination; both laws prohibit it. On an ordinary breach, a flat fee is not one of the deductions Civil Code 1950.5 permits. You can deduct unpaid rent, and the rent you can claim is your loss after mitigation under section 1951.2. Itemize it.

The other tenant on the lease wants out too. Do I have to let him go?

Section 1946.7 does not release him, and section 1941.6 says an excluded co-tenant stays liable for rent. Whether to negotiate an early release is your business decision, and putting any agreement in writing protects both sides.

Sources and disclaimer. California Civil Code sections 1946.7, 1941.5, 1941.6, 1946.8, 1950.5 and 1951.2, and Code of Civil Procedure section 1161.3, read from the Legislature’s text as reproduced at California.Public.Law; and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. 3955, from the U.S. Code as published by the Legal Information Institute. Current as of October 2026. This article is general information for property owners from a California DRE-licensed property management company, not legal advice. Notices involving abuse, military orders, deposit deductions or a claim for future rent should be confirmed with a real estate attorney before you act on them.