Breaking a lease in Louisiana

If you are the tenant

• Tenant or landlord: Notice must be given at least 10 calendar days before the end of the month; it ends the lease at the end of the period named in the notice, or if none is named, at the end of the first period for which the notice is timely (Civ. Code art. 2728).

Written notice required: Yes. For a residence the notice must be in writing. A tenant who surrenders possession to the landlord at the time notice is due is treated as having given notice (Civ. Code art. 2729).

• week-to-week, both: 5 days, ending with a rental period. For a lease measured in weeks (at least a week but less than a month), notice must be given at least 5 calendar days before the end of that period (Civ. Code art. 2728(3)).
• year-to-year, both: 30 days, ending with a rental period. For a lease whose term is measured by a period longer than a month, notice must be given at least 30 calendar days before the end of that period (Civ. Code art. 2728(1)).

No Louisiana statute sets a special rule for a tenant who walks out of a fixed-term residential lease; the lease and general contract law apply, so the tenant stays liable under the lease, reduced by the landlord's duty to mitigate (Civ. Code art. 2002).

Landlord's duty to re-rent: Yes. Civil Code art. 2002 requires an obligee to make reasonable efforts to mitigate damage caused by the other party's failure to perform, and the obligor may ask that damages be reduced if the obligee does not. LouisianaLawHelp.org states that landlords must try to re-rent the unit when a tenant ends a lease early.

Lease-break fees: No general statutory cap on lease-break fees; the lease controls (subject to mitigation). Military tenants under R.S. 9:3261 owe at most one month's rent (or half a month after 6 months).

• Domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking (La. R.S. 9:3261.1)

  In buildings with 6 or more units (not owner-occupied buildings of 10 or fewer), a victim of domestic abuse battery on the premises, stalking or cyberstalking can end the lease early after a written request with documentation.

  Proof:

  A Uniform Abuse Prevention Order, or a Certification of Domestic Abuse signed under oath by a qualified third party (shelter LCSW/counselor, prosecutor or investigating officer). The abuse on the premises must be within the past 30 days; for stalking/cyberstalking off the premises, a written declaration of why staying is unsafe.

  What you still owe:

  Lease ends on a mutually agreed date within 30 days of the written request; tenant owes rent only through that date plus earlier obligations.

• Military service (state law) (La. R.S. 9:3261)

  Active or reserve members (including National Guard and Coast Guard) or their spouses may end a residential lease for change-of-station orders 35+ miles away, temporary duty over 3 months 35+ miles away, discharge/retirement, orders to (or newly available) government quarters, hospitalization over 15 days, or death; termination date at least 30 days after notice and no more than 60 days before departure.

  Notice:

  30 days, in writing

  Proof:

  Copy of the orders, a commanding officer's letter, or a housing officer's statement; for injury/death, hospitalization records, death certificate or official statement.

  What you still owe:

  No more than one month's rent if under 6 months of the lease were completed, or half of one month's rent if at least 6 months were completed; full deposit back if the lease was otherwise followed.

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.

• Arts. 2727-2729 apply to leases with an indeterminate term, including a lease reconducted (renewed by staying) after a fixed term.
• R.S. 9:3261 cannot be waived by the lease; violations allow $200 damages plus other damages.

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

• La. Civ. Code art. 2727 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• La. Civ. Code art. 2728 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• La. Civ. Code art. 2729 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• La. Civ. Code art. 2002 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• La. R.S. 9:3261.1 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• La. R.S. 9:3261 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• LouisianaLawHelp: Ending a rental lease early 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.