Many tenants have the common misconception that personal life changing events will void their lease.  For example you may want to add a policy about lease termination.  Some tenants believe that when they lose a job or go through a divorce that their lease ends.  A lease is a legal and binding contract between a tenant and a landlord.  It is not a flexible document in most states.  However, military  personnel may be allowed out of a lease provided proper documentation is provided to the landlord. For more information about military personnel and lease breaking, please see Lease Termination for Military Servicemembers.

Other common misconceptions as to when a tenant is allowed to break a lease are:

• Health problems
• Roommate differences
• Divorce
• Separation
• Marriage
• Reconciliation with spouse
• Graduating college
• Losing a job or getting fired

In some states the death of a tenant may not be a reason to cancel the lease.  However, most landlords do not want to burden the family members of the deceased, so they allow the lease to be broken.  Check your local law to see what your state requires.