Leaving A Lease Early
Landlord & Tenant Act 514 — an executor's option after a sole tenant dies, and a guard or reserve member's on active duty
When the only tenant dies. In Pennsylvania, when a tenant who is the sole tenant of a residential unit dies during the term of the lease, the executor or administrator of the estate has the option to end the lease on fourteen days' written notice to the landlord. It ends on the later of the last day of the second calendar month after the month of the death, or the surrender of the unit with all of the tenant's personal property removed.
What the estate still owes. The estate remains liable for rent and other debts incurred before the lease ends, including damage to the premises and expenses the landlord incurs as a direct result of the death. It is not liable for damages or any other penalty for breach or inadequate notice because it ended the lease this way.
Called to active duty. A member of the Pennsylvania National Guard or of another reserve component of the armed forces, called or ordered to active duty other than for training, or to State active duty, for 30 consecutive days or more, may end without cost, payment or penalty a lease of premises the member uses as a dwelling or for business, professional or agricultural purposes, or of a vehicle, furniture, appliances or other personal property the member uses, if the lease was signed before the duty began.
How, and when it ends. The member gives written notice, delivered or mailed to the landlord or the landlord's agent, any time after the duty begins. For a lease with monthly payments, it ends 30 days after the first date the next payment is due following the notice; for any other lease, on the last day of the month after the month of the notice, and rent paid in advance for a period after that is refunded.
The landlord's side. Before the termination takes effect, the landlord may apply to the court of common pleas, which may modify or restrict the relief as justice and equity require. A security deposit may still be kept where the law allows it and the landlord shows it is needed for actual damage done while the premises were in the care of the member or the member's family.
What a landlord may recover from a tenant who leaves early for any other reason, and any right the lease itself gives, are not on this page. Whether a particular lease can be ended early is a question for a licensed Pennsylvania attorney.
Sources for this section (2)
- Landlord & Tenant Act 514 — Death of tenant
- 51 Pa.C.S. 7315 — Termination of leases and similar obligations by military personnel
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Pennsylvania attorney.