Tenant vs Cosigner... Who Pays If Lease Is Broken?

You (and any named roommates) are usually on the hook until the lease ends or a new tenant takes over, and a cosigner is liable under their guaranty to the same extent.

Landlords must generally mitigate damages by trying to re-rent, so you owe unpaid rent minus any rent the landlord recovers. Typical charges while a unit is vacant include re-letting or administrative fees and reasonable advertising costs. If a new tenant starts mid-month, rent is usually prorated. Always demand an itemized ledger and written proof of the landlord's re-rental attempts before paying.

You can often limit exposure by negotiating a payment plan or settlement, or by finding a replacement tenant yourself. State rules affect timing and landlord duties, and leases sometimes allow attorney fees, so check your lease. Consider a quick credit-report review before you negotiate so you know what's already reporting.

What you may owe:

• Unpaid rent minus mitigation (rent the landlord collects after re-renting)
• Re-letting fee or administrative fee
• Reasonable advertising costs to find a new tenant
• Repairs beyond normal wear and tear
• Attorney fees and collection costs if the lease permits

Your cosigner is legally on the hook for the tenant's lease obligations, often for the full dollar amount, but they do not gain the right to live in the unit.

Typically a cosigner or guarantor promises to pay all sums due under the lease, including rent, late fees, damages beyond normal wear, and court costs or attorney fees if the lease allows; read the guaranty closely because language changes everything.

• Scope limits and caps: some guaranties limit total liability or time (for example, only the first year); others are unlimited.
• Duration and renewal traps: look for language that extends the guaranty to renewals, extensions, or future leases unless it is expressly limited.
• Waiver of defenses: many guaranties waive common defenses the cosigner could raise, so the landlord may collect from the cosigner without suing the tenant first.
• Credit and recovery: unpaid balances can go to collections or become a judgment and damage the cosigner's credit; the cosigner may then sue the tenant to recover payments. See the FTC's warning on co-signing a loan for general consumer protections and warnings.

Landlords collect unpaid lease money by pursuing the tenant, the cosigner, or both, using a stepwise legal and collection process aimed at recovering rent and damages.

• Demand letter sent first, request payment now; your counter-move, respond in writing and request account details.
• Apply security deposit next, landlord credits damage and unpaid rent; your counter-move, get an itemized move-out statement.
• Send to collections if unpaid, collectors call and report to credit bureaus; your counter-move, dispute inaccurate debts and ask for validation.
• File suit to obtain a judgment, possible if amount justifies court costs; your counter-move, consult an attorney or mediation early.
• Post-judgment remedies may follow, such as bank levy or wage garnishment where state law allows; your counter-move, check exemptions and statute timing.

The practical playbook is demand letter, apply deposit, send to collections, sue for judgment, then post-judgment remedies. Landlords can pursue you, the cosigner, or both, and the order is not guaranteed. Always ask for proof: the lease, ledger of charges, the move-out statement, and documentation that the landlord tried to re-rent the unit (proof of mitigation). Check your state statute of limitations before paying.

Consider negotiating a lump-sum settlement, which often ranges 40–70% of the claimed balance in practice, facts dependent. Review collectors' conduct and how to dispute reporting via CFPB debt collection guidance. Before you call a collector, consider having us pull a soft credit review to see what's already furnished.

Documents to request before paying:

• A copy of the signed lease and any guaranty agreement.
• A detailed ledger showing rents, fees, and dates.
• An itemized move-out statement with receipts for repairs.
• Proof of mitigation efforts, like advertising or tenant-showing logs.
• Any demand letters or court filings and the collector's validation notice.

Yes - the security deposit can pay some costs when you break a lease, but it has limits and rules.

What deposits can/can't cover:

• Unpaid rent and lease-approved fees, first.
• Repair costs for damage beyond normal wear, next.
• Rarely future rent, unless the lease allows acceleration and your state law permits.
• Not unpaid utility bills or third-party fees unless the lease says so.
• If the deposit is bigger than charges, you get a refund.

Your landlord must give a timely, itemized accounting of deductions, with a state deadline that varies. You may dispute improper charges using photos, walkthrough notes, and receipts.

If the deposit falls short, negotiate a payment plan, settle with the landlord, or pursue the balance in small claims. For more information, check your state's landlord-tenant laws.

Breaking the lease itself does not show up on your credit report, but unpaid rent pursued through collections or a court judgment can.

Most landlords do not report lease breaks to the credit bureaus, however collection agencies and courts can. A debt sent to collections will likely appear as a collection account; a court win can appear as a judgment. Paid collections may stay on file but can be updated to paid/settled, and some collectors accept pay-for-delete requests though that depends on the collector and the credit reporting agency. Collections normally fall off in about 7 years, and this is what actually affects your score, not the mere act of leaving early. Credit utilization is largely unaffected because rent is not a revolving balance, though a collection lowers your score by harming payment history.

Some landlords use rent-reporting services that send on-time or late rent to specialty bureaus, so a history of missed rent could show up there. If you find inaccurate items, dispute them under the Fair Credit Reporting Act via the CFPB guidance at what to do if your credit report has a mistake. If you want, we can scan your credit reports to see which companies furnished lease-related data before you negotiate with the landlord or cosigner.

Who pays when a lease is broken depends mostly on your state's rules, not just the names on the papers.

States decide key rules landlords must follow, including whether they must try to re-rent the unit, whether they can demand the entire remaining rent up front, and whether a cosigner can be sued separately or together with you. Duty to mitigate forces landlords in many states to seek new tenants; some states bar or limit acceleration clauses and cap re-leasing or liquidated damages; joint-and-several liability laws let landlords collect the full unpaid rent from either tenant or cosigner; statutes of limitations limit how long suits can be filed; and some states give tenants automatic early-termination rights for things like domestic violence, military orders, or severe habitability failures.

Check your state rules directly before acting, because one line in a lease can change who gets billed. For official summaries, review state landlord-tenant laws by state or your state attorney general's consumer pages.

Quick lease reading tip: find the default and fee sections, the attorney-fee clause, and any guaranty addendum, and compare those clauses with your state's mitigation, acceleration, and early-termination laws.

State checks:

• Mitigation: does landlord must re-rent promptly.
• Acceleration/re-letting: are full-rent acceleration or re-rental fees allowed.
• Statute of limitations: how long landlord can sue for unpaid rent.
• Special terminations: protections for military, domestic violence, habitability.
• Attorney-fee clause: who pays legal costs if sued.

You pay only the landlord's actual net loss after the unit is re-rented and the security deposit and mitigation reduce the bill; the cosigner is jointly liable unless a settlement or lease cap applies.

1) Tenant leaves 4 months early; unit re-rented in 6 weeks; deposit applied

You break lease, rent = $1,500/mo, 4 months left, deposit = $1,200, vacancy until re-rent = 6 weeks (1.5 months), ads/turnover assumed $200.

• Remaining contract rent: 4 × $1,500 = $6,000.
• Landlord recovered rent after 6 weeks, so actual vacancy loss = 1.5 × $1,500 = $2,250.
• Add re-rental cost: $200.
• Gross landlord loss = $2,250 + $200 = $2,450.
• Subtract deposit: $2,450 − $1,200 = $1,250 owed by tenant.

Why the number changed: landlord must mitigate, so you only pay the vacancy period plus re-rental costs, not the full remaining lease. This reflects principles such as how landlords must try to re-rent after a lease break in many jurisdictions.

2) Same facts, but with a cosigner; landlord accepts 60% settlement

Same inputs as case 1, gross loss before deposit = $2,450, net owed after deposit = $1,250. Cosigner is jointly and severally liable, so landlord can collect from either or both. Parties negotiate a 60% total settlement.

• Net owed: $1,250.
• Settlement accepted: 60% × $1,250 = $750.
• Who pays (example split): cosigner pays 60% of the settlement = $450, tenant pays 40% = $300, or landlord may require cosigner to pay full $750.

Why the number changed: negotiated discount reduces the debt; joint liability means landlord can accept payment from either party. This aligns with how joint and several liability works in lease agreements.

3) Early break with a lease clause cap (cap = 2 months' rent) plus advertising fee; capped vs uncapped states

Inputs: rent = $1,500/mo, 4 months remaining, deposit = $1,200, advertising fee contract clause = $250, lease cap = 2 months' rent. Mitigation still required in many states; some states enforce caps strictly.

• Contract cap liability: 2 × $1,500 = $3,000.
• Add advertising fee if contract allows: $3,000 + $250 = $3,250.
• Subtract deposit: $3,250 − $1,200 = $2,050 owed under cap.
• Uncapped, mitigated liability (from case 1) = $1,250 owed.

Why the number changed: a strict lease cap can increase your bill if the cap plus fees exceed the landlord's actual mitigated loss; in mitigation-friendly states uncapped mitigated loss is often lower. Some states enforce these lease caps as outlined in state-specific rules for breaking a lease early.

If a roommate leaves early and you all signed one lease, you can be legally responsible for the full unpaid rent because leases usually impose joint and several liability.

Your safe options:

• Assignment or sublet, with written landlord approval.
• Replace the departing roommate with a landlord-approved tenant.
• Get a written release or novation from the landlord that removes the departing tenant from the lease.

What to document:

• Written landlord consent to any sublet, replacement, or release.
• Date keys and access were returned by the departing roommate.
• New lease or replacement tenant start date and signed agreement.

If you cover more than your fair share, keep records and pursue the ex-roommate in small claims court for reimbursement, showing payments, bank transfers, communication, and the lease. Informal swaps or verbal agreements rarely free you or your cosigner, and your cosigner remains exposed unless the landlord signs a release.

Protecting both you and a cosigner starts before signing, by limiting exposure and documenting expectations clearly.

• Pre-signing checklist: ask for a guaranty cap (suggest max two months' rent), a fixed lease end date (no auto-renew), a notice-and-cure period for late pay, and a break option (fixed fee plus 30–60 days' notice).
• Add a roommate addendum, a move-in condition report with photos, and require renters insurance naming landlord loss payee if possible.

Negotiate these terms in writing, not verbally. Tell the landlord you need the guaranty limited to specific months and to exclude future renewals. Offer concrete language they can add to the lease. Be firm but collaborative; landlords often accept clear, narrow guarantees.

Document everything you agree to. Get the addendum attached to the lease and signed. Take dated photos and keep receipts for repairs. Ask the cosigner to read the guaranty aloud and initial any changes. Run a quick credit checkup with us so you negotiate from a position of strength and know what the cosigner risk looks like.

Red-flag clauses to avoid or limit: acceleration clauses that demand full remaining rent immediately, blanket attorney-fee shifts, guaranties covering 'any renewal or modification,' unlimited duration guaranties, and provisions that waive notice or cure rights.

You can hit rare legal exceptions that change who pays when a lease is broken: military service, bankruptcy, or the tenant's death can shift or pause liability.

Qualified servicemembers may end a lease early by giving written notice plus a copy of orders; termination usually takes effect 30 days after the next rent due date. See Servicemembers Civil Relief Act details for exact requirements.

What to send, when it takes effect, who's protected:

• What to send: written notice and military orders.
• When it takes effect: typically 30 days after the next rent due date following notice.
• Who's protected: the qualifying servicemember; cosigners may not be covered.

If a tenant files bankruptcy, an automatic stay halts collections immediately. Pre-filing unpaid rent becomes a claim in the bankruptcy estate and may or may not be discharged depending on chapter and timing. See bankruptcy basics and rules for how claims and co-debtor stays work, noting Chapter 13 can offer limited co-debtor protection.

If a tenant dies, the lease duty usually becomes a claim against the tenant's estate until the landlord mitigates damages or accepts surrender. State law varies on landlord obligations and survivor liability, so check local rules quickly if this happens.

A cosigner is legally tied to the lease like the tenant, so both can be pursued for unpaid rent and damages when a lease is broken.

Do landlords have to pursue the tenant before the cosigner?

No, landlords can pursue either party named on the lease. Many agreements list both as jointly and severally liable, so the landlord may sue the cosigner without first suing the tenant.

Can a cosigner settle separately?

Yes, a cosigner can negotiate and pay a settlement on their own, but you must get a full written release that specifically clears the cosigner from further claims. Without that release, the landlord can still seek additional amounts from the tenant or other guarantors.

How long can they collect?

Collection time depends on your state statute of limitations for written contracts, which varies widely. Check the exact deadline in your state because claims filed after that period can be dismissed.

Will paying delete the collection?

Payment does not automatically remove a collection from credit reports, lenders, or court judgments. Ask the creditor for a written pay-for-delete or negotiated reporting agreement, and get all terms in writing before you pay.

Can a deposit be used before rent is owed?

Yes, landlords may apply the security deposit to unpaid rent or damages if the lease and state law allow it, but they must provide an itemized accounting for any deductions. Remaining unpaid balances can still be pursued from the tenant and cosigner.

We can review reports and draft settlement language if you want focused help.