Does breaking a lease hurt your credit?

The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, act as legal, financial or credit advice. See Lexington Law’s editorial disclosure for more information.

Breaking a lease is relatively common and can happen for a number of reasons. Oftentimes, a new job can require you to move midway through a lease. Other times, personal issues arise that can force you to cut your lease short.

As a result, it’s rather common for tenants to leave leases early, and it doesn’t make you a bad or unreliable tenant if you must. However, landlords will still expect full payment for the entire lease term, even if you’re moving out months in advance.

If you do have to your break your lease, it’s crucial you’re not indebted to your landlord. When tenants owe landlords money, landlords will sometimes hire collection agencies to collect debts, introducing a whole new set of problems—one of which can be a hit to your credit score.

Maintaining a good credit score is important for a number of reasons. A good credit score can:

• Give you more housing options
• Help you qualify for low-interest credit cards
• Save on insurance
• Make you a stronger job candidate

Your credit score follows you around wherever you go. Therefore, when your score goes down, it can be a tremendous setback—and can take you years to reconcile.

As a result, protecting your credit is one of the most important things you can do—and breaking a lease shouldn’t have to jeopardize it . Keep reading as we explain how breaking a lease early can affect your credit and ways you can break a lease while protecting your credit.

Does breaking a lease early affect your credit?

Breaking a lease doesn’t directly show up on your credit report, but the consequences of breaking a lease, if you’re indebted to your landlord, can have compounding effects that sometimes result in a knock to your credit.

If you leave debts unpaid after breaking your lease, your landlord will likely use a collection agency to reclaim your debts. Your landlord probably won’t report the debt to a credit bureau, but the collection agency likely will.

If this happens, your credit will suffer, which can greatly affect you down the road.

Ways breaking your lease can hurt your credit

Like we said, breaking your lease doesn’t directly affect your credit, but the fallout often can. If you break a lease and don’t pay outstanding debts, your landlord may handle it in a couple different ways. A few possibilities include:

• Your landlord may involve a collection agency: As we mentioned earlier, a landlord will sometimes bring in a debt collector if you don’t pay your remaining rent. If this occurs. the collection agency will likely report you to a credit bureau.
• You may have trouble renting again: If your credit takes a hit, it will likely affect your ability to rent in the future. A 620 or higher is the usual score needed to rent an apartment. Most landlords run credit checks prior to renting to a tenant.

How to break a lease and protect your credit

The lesson here is that it’s best to proceed with caution when breaking your lease. Use our tips below to ensure you leave your lease with peace of mind.

Review the lease contract

Knowing your rights as a tenant is the first matter to address when breaking a lease—and the lease contract is the place to start. Sometimes, the contract will give you an easy out, like paying a small fee or allowing subletting. However, it’s pivotal you review the intricacies of the contract before beginning the process of breaking the lease, so as to be aware of your rights as a tenant.

Be transparent with your landlord

Having a one-on-one conversation with your landlord is a must if you plan on breaking your lease. If you’re transparent with your landlord about why you’re breaking the lease, they’ll most likely work with you to reach a solution that benefits everyone. 

Keeping your landlord in the loop is a great way to create a line of communication and ensure they don’t take any negative action against you.

Look for a subletter

Subletting isn’t allowed in all lease contracts, but if it is, it can give you peace of mind in breaking your lease. Subletting, by definition, means finding someone else to take over the remainder of your lease. If you elect to sublet, it’s essential to check with your landlord first to ensure them you’re subletting to a reliable tenant.

Since your name will remain on the lease, you’ll ultimately be responsible for any issues with the subletter. As a result, it’s important to screen whoever is taking over the remainder of the lease. 

Pay outstanding rent up-front

If you’re able, paying your outstanding rent balance at the time you break the lease is typically a foolproof way to ensure the landlord doesn’t take any negative action against you.

While there may be more intricacies within the lease agreement when it comes to breaking the lease, settling outstanding debts eliminates the possibility of the landlord bringing a collection agency into the picture. And in almost all cases, disputes over breaking a lease boil down to outstanding debts.

Situations when you can break a lease without repercussions

There are certain situations where tenants are protected by law when breaking a lease; therefore, it’s essential to know when you can break a lease without repercussions. The examples below vary from state to state and can require that some specific notifications are made to the owner of the property before exercising your right to break the lease. It is important to know your responsibilities under your state law before breaking your lease.

• The unit is uninhabitable/doesn’t comply with housing codes: If you believe that your residency isn’t complying with health codes, look into state laws to confirm your suspicion. States have certain health codes that rental units have to adhere to. If your rental isn’t complying, you can terminate your lease without repercussion.
• Tenant rights were violated: While some tenant rights differ from state to state, federal rights like anti-discrimination laws, privacy laws and the right to a habitable home protect tenants on the national level.
• You’re active military: Tenants who are active duty military can break a lease without repercussions. The Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act allows military members to break leases due to their service.
• Breach of quiet enjoyment was violated: The Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment guarantees that the tenant will get a peaceful environment. This is implied in lease agreements and, if violated, allows you to break a lease without repercussion.
• The lease has a termination clause: Some leases include a termination clause that just involves paying a small fee. Make sure you review the lease contract before telling your landlord that you’re breaking the lease to see if a termination clause is included.

Frequently asked questions

Navigating the legalities of a lease contract can be difficult for tenants. As a result, other questions often arise when breaking a lease. Some common questions tend to be:

How long does a broken lease stay on your credit report?

The broken lease itself will not appear on your credit report, but any unpaid rent or other fees can stay on your credit report for up to seven years.

Does paying rent build credit?

Paying rent won’t build credit unless you report your payments to a credit bureau each month. In order to do this, you’ll need to sign up for a subscription service that reports rent payments for you. Your landlord will also need to sign up for the subscription in order to receive the payments through the service.

Keep in mind that it may be unlikely that your landlord will want to participate in this system, since they likely have their own system for collecting rent payments.

Rent-to-own, which involves renting a home with the intent to purchase it at the end of the lease contract, does not directly affect your credit either. Unlike mortgage payments, rent-to-own payments are not reported to credit bureaus.

Can you get debts from breaking a lease removed from your credit report?

In general, no. Unless the debt is truly inaccurate, it’ll remain on your report for seven years.

However, if you pay the debt after the judgment is already added to your credit report, you can work with the creditor to have the debt marked as “paid” instead of “open” on your report. This can improve creditworthiness and give you a better chance of receiving loans and renting in the future.

Leave your lease with peace of mind

When you break a lease, it’s best to leave no shadow of a doubt that your credit will be protected. Whether this means having a candid conversation with your landlord, paying your outstanding rent amount or finding a subletter, there are best practices you can put into action to avoid having to fix poor credit down the road.

Finding ways to fix your credit can be difficult, and often requires the help of a professional. Lexington Law’s credit repair services could help you get back on track. Get a free credit assessment today.

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