Leaving an unsafe relationship can involve more than simply deciding to move.

A victim of family violence may share a home with the person committing the violence, may need to relocate quickly for safety, and may still have months remaining on an apartment or residential lease.

Ordinarily, moving out before a lease expires can leave a tenant responsible for rent or other amounts owed under the lease.

Texas law, however, provides special protections in certain situations involving family violence.

Texas Property Code § 92.016 allows a qualifying tenant to terminate a residential lease early, move out, and avoid liability for future rent when the statutory requirements are satisfied.

Understanding those requirements is important for both tenants and landlords.

Texas Law Gives Family-Violence Victims a Right to Terminate Certain Leases

Texas Property Code § 92.016(b) establishes the basic protection.

The statute provides that a qualifying tenant:

“may terminate the tenant's rights and obligations under a lease”

and may vacate the dwelling and avoid liability for certain future amounts that otherwise could become due because the tenant left before the end of the lease.

This is significant.

A residential lease is a contract, and ordinarily neither party can simply disregard its remaining obligations because circumstances have become inconvenient or difficult.

Section 92.016 creates a statutory exception when family violence is involved and the tenant follows the required procedure.

What Counts as “Family Violence”?

Section 92.016 incorporates the definition of family violence contained in Texas Family Code § 71.004.

That statute generally includes certain acts by one family or household member against another involving physical harm, bodily injury, assault, sexual assault, or qualifying threats of imminent harm. It also includes certain abuse and dating-violence situations covered by the statute.

The protection therefore is not limited to violence between married spouses.

Depending upon the circumstances and statutory definitions, family violence can involve other family members, household members, former spouses, parents of the same child, and certain dating relationships.

Whether particular conduct satisfies the statutory definition can depend upon the specific facts.

What Documentation Does a Tenant Need?

A tenant cannot necessarily break a lease merely by telling the landlord that family violence occurred.

Section 92.016 requires qualifying documentation.

The statute permits a tenant to establish eligibility through certain court orders protecting the tenant or an occupant, including qualifying temporary injunctions, temporary ex parte orders, protective orders, and orders of emergency protection.

But a court order is not always the only possible form of documentation.

The statute also recognizes certain documentation of family violence from specified professionals, including:

• a licensed health care services provider who examined the victim;
• a licensed mental health services provider who examined or evaluated the victim; or
• a qualifying advocate who assisted the victim.

This distinction is important because someone experiencing family violence may not necessarily have completed a separate protective-order proceeding before needing to relocate.

Is 30 Days' Notice Required?

In the ordinary situation covered by § 92.016(c), the tenant must provide the landlord with the required documentation and written notice terminating the lease.

The written termination notice generally must be provided on or before the 30th day before the termination date.

The tenant must also actually vacate the dwelling.

Accordingly, a tenant should not assume that simply leaving the property immediately eliminates future liability.

The statutory procedure matters.

There Is an Important Exception When the Abuser Lives in the Dwelling

Texas law recognizes that requiring someone to remain in a dangerous household for another 30 days could create an obvious problem.

Section 92.016(c-1) therefore provides a special rule when the family violence is committed by a cotenant or occupant of the dwelling.

When the statutory requirements are otherwise satisfied through the methods identified in that subsection, the tenant is not required to provide the ordinary 30-day termination notice.

This can make an enormous practical difference.

If the person committing the family violence lives in the same apartment or house, the law may permit the qualifying tenant to leave without waiting through the ordinary notice period.

Does the Tenant Still Owe Past-Due Rent?

Early lease termination under § 92.016 generally protects the tenant against future liability resulting from terminating the lease early.

It does not automatically erase every debt that arose before termination.

Section 92.016(d) generally preserves liability for delinquent unpaid rent and other sums already owed before termination.

However, the statute contains an important exception involving the language of the lease itself.

Section 92.016(f) provides special consequences when the lease fails to contain language substantially equivalent to the statutory notice informing tenants that they may possess special early-termination rights involving family violence or military deployment or transfer.

When the required language is absent and the other statutory conditions are satisfied, the tenant may receive broader protection from delinquent unpaid rent existing on the effective termination date.

For landlords, this is one reason properly drafted statutory notices in residential leases matter.

Can a Landlord Put a Clause in the Lease Waiving This Right?

No.

Texas Property Code § 92.016(g) provides:

“A tenant's right to terminate a lease ... may not be waived by a tenant.”

A lease provision attempting to eliminate the statutory protection therefore cannot simply override § 92.016.

That is an important reminder that residential leases operate within a larger statutory framework.

Even when a tenant signs a lengthy lease, Texas law may create rights that the contract cannot eliminate.

What Happens If a Landlord Refuses to Honor the Statute?

Section 92.016 does more than create a right to leave.

It also creates potential liability for a landlord who violates the statute.

Under § 92.016(e), a violating landlord may be liable for:

• actual damages;
• a civil penalty equal to one month's rent plus $500; and
• attorney's fees.

That potential liability gives the statute meaningful enforcement power.

A landlord receiving documentation and a termination notice under § 92.016 should therefore avoid treating the situation as an ordinary early move-out without first determining whether the statutory requirements have been satisfied.

What If Both People Are on the Lease?

This is one of the situations in which the details matter.

Section 92.016 protects the qualifying tenant'srights and obligations when the statute is properly invoked. The existence of another tenant or occupant does not necessarily prevent the protected tenant from exercising statutory rights.

But the rights and continuing obligations of other parties to the lease can present separate questions.

A landlord or tenant should therefore be careful about assuming that one person's statutory termination automatically produces the same legal result for every other person named in the lease.

Family Violence Can Create Both Family-Law and Property-Law Issues

Family violence is often discussed primarily in the context of protective orders, divorce, child custody, or criminal proceedings.

But its consequences can extend into ordinary contract and property law.

A residential lease may otherwise require months of additional rent. Section 92.016 recognizes that forcing a qualifying victim to choose between remaining in an unsafe environment and facing continuing lease liability can create a serious obstacle to leaving.

The statute therefore provides a specific mechanism for terminating the lease when its requirements are satisfied.

Landlords Should Treat These Requests Carefully

Landlords also have legitimate reasons to verify that a request falls within the statute.

Section 92.016 does not create an unlimited right for every tenant experiencing a difficult relationship to abandon a lease without consequence. The documentation, notice, timing, and factual requirements still matter.

At the same time, a landlord who receives qualifying documentation should be careful not to demand requirements that the statute does not impose or simply reject the request because the lease ordinarily prohibits early termination.

The safest approach is to compare the tenant's request directly with the statutory requirements.

The Bottom Line

Yes. Texas law can allow a tenant experiencing family violence to break a residential lease early and avoid liability for future rent.

Texas Property Code § 92.016 establishes a statutory procedure that generally requires qualifying evidence of family violence, appropriate notice, and vacation of the dwelling.

The law also provides an important exception to the ordinary 30-day notice requirement when the person committing the family violence is a cotenant or occupant of the dwelling.

The protection cannot simply be waived in the lease, and a landlord who violates the statute may face actual damages, a statutory penalty, and attorney's fees.

For tenants, the important lesson is not simply to move out and assume the lease has disappeared. Following the statutory procedure can determine whether the tenant remains legally responsible for future rent.

For landlords, the lesson is equally important: a request to terminate a lease because of family violence is not necessarily an ordinary request for early termination. Texas law gives qualifying tenants specific statutory rights that must be respected.

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The application of Texas Property Code § 92.016 depends upon the particular facts, documentation, lease terms, and circumstances involved.

At David C. Barsalou, Attorney at Law, PLLC, we help clients navigate business, family, tax, estate planning, and real estate matters ranging from document drafting to litigation with clarity and confidence. If you’d like guidance on your situation, schedule a consultation today. Call us at (713) 397-4678, email barsalou.law@gmail.com, or reach us through our Contact Page. We’re here to help you take the next step.