Lease
Residential Lease Termination Settlement
End a tenancy early on agreed terms, with the deposit, final rent, and any early termination fee settled in one document.
Available product levels
Customized Agreements
$29.99Guided questions and tailored clauses for agreements that need specific protections.
When to use this document
- Both sides agree to end a lease before its term expires
- A tenant needs to leave early and the landlord will accept it
- Settling the deposit and final rent together rather than separately
- Recording a payment plan for anything still owed
Information you will need
- Landlord, tenant, and the exact premises
- The original lease date and the agreed termination date
- Move-out date and time, and how possession is returned
- Final rent through date and any early termination fee
- Security deposit amount and how it is to be disposed of
- The tenant's forwarding address for the deposit accounting
- Utilities, access devices, and the condition standard
What you receive
- A Residential Lease Termination Settlement
- Signature blocks for landlord and tenant
- Completion instructions
- PDF and editable DOCX export
Special situations
- Deposit deadlines and permitted deductions are set by state and often city law, and this settlement states none. Agreeing something the law does not permit does not make it enforceable.
- The forwarding address matters: most states require the itemised deposit statement delivered to the tenant, and failing to provide one can forfeit the right to deduct at all.
- Returning possession is not the same as moving out. Keys and access devices are what end the right to occupy.
- A general release can close off claims neither side has thought about. Use the exceptions to preserve anything you want to keep alive.
- If the tenancy is ending because of a dispute rather than by agreement, this is the wrong document and advice is worth the cost.
Jurisdiction
Deposit caps, deadlines, permitted deductions, interest, and the notices required to end a tenancy are set by state and frequently city law. This settlement states no figure or deadline and directs both parties to confirm what applies where the property is.
Frequently asked questions
Does this replace the notice my lease requires?
Not automatically. It records an agreement to end the tenancy early, which is different from giving notice under the lease. Where the lease requires notice as well, deal with both.
When does the deposit have to come back?
On the timetable your state sets, which runs from the end of the tenancy or the return of possession depending on where you are. This document records what you agreed, but a private agreement cannot extend a statutory deadline.
What is an early termination fee actually for?
Usually the landlord's cost of re-letting. Say what it settles — if it replaces the remaining rent, write that, because a fee with no stated effect leaves both sides arguing about whether rent is still owed on top.
Can we agree the tenant forfeits the whole deposit?
You can agree it, but permitted deductions are regulated, and an agreement to forfeit beyond what the law allows is often unenforceable. Itemise instead.
Should we do a walkthrough?
Yes, together, with photographs and a date. It creates shared evidence, and deposit disputes are decided almost entirely on evidence of condition.
Related documents and guides
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Last reviewed July 29, 2026.