Please read the law.

If a tenant wants to move out early and break their lease for a reason other than one listed in the Statutory Rights to Terminate a Lease box below, they continue to owe the landlord rent under the lease. They only stop owing rent once the lease ends or a new tenant is found.

Section 91.006 of the Texas Property Code describes a "landlord's duty to mitigate damages." This means that a landlord must try to find a new tenant and help reduce the amount of rent the former tenant owes under the lease. A condition of a lease that says that a landlord does not have duty to mitigate damages is void under this law.

A landlord must use "objectively reasonable efforts" to find a replacement tenant that is "suitable under the circumstances." They are not required to just take "any willing tenant." (Austin Hill County Realty, Inc. v. Palisades Plaza, Inc., 948 S.W.2d 293).

Sometimes a landlord can't find a new tenant or the security deposit does not cover the rent that the tenant owed. In these cases, the landlord may send the tenant's debt to collections or sue them over the unpaid rent. Actions like these can make it more difficult to rent in the future. A tenant should be very careful when making a decision to end a lease early.