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Lease Cancellation Fee Calculator

When tenant wants to cancel early, LL negotiates a fee that covers re-lease cost plus lost rent. This calculator sizes it.

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Recommended cancellation fee

$5,500

Vacancy loss

$2,700

Re-lease cost

$2,800

How the math works

Cancellation fee = downtime rent + turn cost + commission. Makes LL whole without windfall.

Tenants often offer 1-2 months rent as buyout. Counter with full economic cost. Meet in middle based on market conditions and tenant goodwill.

How to Use

  1. Enter months remaining on lease.
  2. Enter monthly rent.
  3. Enter expected re-lease downtime (months).
  4. Enter turn cost.
  5. Read cancellation fee.

Frequently Asked Questions

Typical fee?

1-3 months rent + re-lease cost is common floor. Higher for commercial — often 6-12 months rent or TI/LC recapture. Institutional leases cap at predetermined schedule.

Can tenant just walk?

Risks lease breach + damage to credit. Most tenants negotiate rather than default. Offer a fee that saves tenant money vs full abandonment.

When to be generous?

Hot market (easy to re-lease), troubled tenant (better gone than fighting), or good-faith hardship. Flexibility earns goodwill + preserves relationship with referrable tenants.

What documentation matters here?

Written leases, move-in/move-out inspections with photographs, ledger entries showing every payment and charge, served notices with proof of service, and contemporaneous emails or texts. Courts weigh written evidence heavily; informal understandings rarely stand. Institutional operators run a monthly file audit to catch gaps before they matter. Good paper trails recover most of what's owed.

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