Breaking a lease in California

If you are the tenant

• A tenant may end a month-to-month tenancy by giving at least 30 days' written notice at any time; rent is due through the termination date (Cal. Civ. Code § 1946). The lease may allow notice as short as 7 days if agreed when the tenancy was created.

If the landlord ends it

• If any tenant or resident has lived in the unit less than one year, the landlord must give at least 30 days' written notice before the termination date (Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.1(c)).
• Once every tenant and resident has lived there at least one year, the landlord must give at least 60 days' notice (§ 1946.1(b), (c)); after a tenant has lived there 12 months, most landlords also need a just cause listed in § 1946.2, stated in the notice (no-fault causes require relocation help). Exempt units and certain sales to an owner-occupant (30 days, § 1946.1(d)) differ; local just-cause ordinances may apply instead.

Written notice required: Yes. Notice must be in writing and served as in Code Civ. Proc. § 1162 or by certified or registered mail (Cal. Civ. Code § 1946).

If a tenant breaches and abandons, the lease ends and the landlord may recover unpaid rent minus the amount of rental loss the tenant proves could have been reasonably avoided, plus other damages caused by the breach (Cal. Civ. Code § 1951.2). If the lease so provides and lets the tenant sublet or assign, the landlord may instead keep the lease in effect and collect rent as it comes due (§ 1951.4).

Landlord's duty to re-rent: Yes. A landlord's recovery after abandonment is reduced by any rental loss the tenant proves could have been reasonably avoided (Cal. Civ. Code § 1951.2(a)(2)-(3)), except where the lease keeps the lease in effect under § 1951.4.

Lease-break fees: No statutory cap on lease-break fees; landlord damages are limited by the mitigation rule in Civil Code § 1951.2. A landlord may not charge a fee for serving a termination notice (Civ. Code § 1946(b)).

• Domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking (Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.7)

  A tenant may end the lease if the tenant, a household member or an immediate family member is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, elder or dependent-adult abuse, or a crime causing bodily injury or involving a deadly weapon or force.

  Proof:

  Written notice within 180 days of the order, report or act, with a protective order, a police report, a qualified third-party statement in the statutory form, or other reasonable documentation.

  What you still owe:

  Rent for no more than 14 calendar days after notice (prorated if re-rented sooner); released from all other rent and payments; deposit may not be forfeited for the termination.

• Military service (state law) (Cal. Mil. & Vet. Code §§ 400, 409)

  A National Guard member called to full-time active state service (as well as federal service) may end a residential lease after entering service or receiving qualifying orders.

  Proof:

  Written notice plus a copy of military orders.

  What you still owe:

  For monthly rent, the lease ends 30 days after the next rent due date after notice is delivered.

• Unit unlivable or landlord fails to repair (Cal. Civ. Code § 1942)

  If the landlord does not repair conditions making the unit untenantable within a reasonable time, the tenant may vacate and owe no further rent; usable at most twice in 12 months.

  Proof:

  Written or oral notice of the defect and a reasonable time (presumed 30 days) for the landlord to repair.

  What you still owe:

  Released from further rent as of the date of vacating.

Military orders, every state: the federal SCRA lets servicemembers with orders (permanent change of station or deployment of 90+ days) end a lease with written notice and a copy of the orders. How the SCRA date is counted.

• Cities with a just-cause ordinance adopted on or before Sept. 1, 2019, or a later more-protective one, follow the local ordinance instead of Civil Code § 1946.2 (§ 1946.2(i)).
• Civil Code § 1946.2 (statewide just cause) is repealed as of January 1, 2030, by its own terms.

• Write a California notice to vacate
• California security deposit law: getting your deposit back after you move

• Cal. Civ. Code § 1946 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.1 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.7 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• Cal. Civ. Code § 1951.2 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• Cal. Civ. Code § 1942 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• Cal. Mil. & Vet. Code § 409 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• Cal. Mil. & Vet. Code § 400 Retrieved October 13, 2026.

Laws change. This page was checked against the sources above on October 13, 2026. It is legal information, not legal advice; see our methodology.