Can a domestic violence victim end a lease early in Texas?

In Texas, a tenant who is a victim of family violence, or whose occupant is, may end a lease and avoid liability for future rent by giving the landlord a copy of a family violence protective order or documentation from a licensed health care or mental health provider or a victim advocate, plus written notice of termination at least 30 days before the termination date, and then moving out. The right takes effect once the documentation and notice have been given, the 30th day after the notice has passed and the tenant has vacated. If a cotenant or occupant committed the family violence, the 30-day notice is not required. The tenant remains liable for delinquent rent owed before the termination, unless the lease lacks the statutory sentence telling tenants they may have special rights to terminate early in situations involving family violence, in which case that delinquent rent is released too. A landlord who violates the section is liable for actual damages, a civil penalty of one month’s rent plus $500, and attorney’s fees, and the tenant cannot waive the right. A parallel section gives the same right, on the same 30-day notice, to a tenant who is a victim, or the parent or guardian living with a victim, of sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, certain sex offenses against a child or a disabled individual, or an attempt at one of them within the preceding six months, or of stalking on the premises within that period, and bars disclosure of the documentation except for a legitimate business purpose or as the law requires. This is Tex. Prop. Code §§ 92.016, 92.0161.

WhatTexas
Ending the lease early30 days’ notice with a protective order or documentation

What the statute says

“A tenant may terminate the tenant’s rights and obligations under a lease and may vacate the dwelling and avoid liability for future rent and any other sums due under the lease for terminating the lease …”

Quoted word for word from the section’s text.

Source

Tex. Prop. Code §§ 92.016, 92.0161

Read the statute in the Texas Statutes (Texas Legislature): statutes.capitol.texas.gov.

Checked against the statute on November 15, 2026.

This is a summary of a published statute, not legal advice. Rules change, local ordinances can add to them, and the terms of a specific lease may differ. Check the citation and speak to a lawyer before acting.

How Seayora uses this rule

Seayora keeps every lease’s term, rent and signers in one record and dates every change to it. This page states the state’s rule so a lease’s own early-termination and sublet clauses can be checked against it before the lease is signed.

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