How to End a Student Lease Early Without Losing Your Deposit
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Aug 19, 2026 • Student Housing, Canadian Universities & Colleges
You cannot simply hand back the keys and stop paying rent. Legally, you end a lease early by assigning it to a new tenant, subletting it, negotiating a mutual termination with your landlord, or applying to your provincial tenancy tribunal in specific situations. If your landlord refuses a reasonable request without cause, the tenancy board or tribunal in your province has the power to force the issue.
📩 Ask for a mutual agreement to end the tenancy first. It is the fastest, cleanest option when it works
🏠 Assignment hands your lease to a new tenant who takes over completely. Subletting keeps you legally responsible instead
In Ontario and BC, a landlord cannot unreasonably refuse a reasonable assignment or sublet request. In Quebec, a landlord can refuse a sublet only for a serious reason, but since 2024 can refuse an assignment without one, which simply ends your lease and releases you
Leaving without any agreement puts you on the hook for rent until the landlord finds a new tenant
Provincial tenancy boards, Ontario's LTB, BC's RTB and Quebec's TAL, resolve disputes when a landlord refuses to cooperate
What happens if you stop paying and leave
A residential lease is a contract for a fixed term. Once you sign, you owe rent for that term whether you keep living there or not, unless you end the tenancy through one of the legal routes below or your landlord agrees to let you go early. Stopping payment and moving out puts you at risk of a claim for unpaid rent, and in some provinces that claim reaches you through a collection agency or shows up on a credit report.
Option 1: Ask for a mutual agreement to end the tenancy
Your fastest and cleanest option is a written agreement with your landlord to end the lease on an agreed date. Landlords often say yes to this when the rental market is tight and they expect to re-rent quickly, since it avoids the paperwork of a dispute. Get any agreement in writing, signed by both sides, with a clear move-out date and a statement on your deposit.
Option 2: Assign the lease to a new tenant
Assignment transfers your entire lease, including your obligations, to a new tenant who moves in and becomes fully responsible in your place. You are released from the lease once the assignment is complete. In Ontario and BC, a landlord cannot unreasonably refuse a reasonable assignment or sublet request, and in BC this protection applies only when 6 months or more remain on a fixed-term lease, a landlord can refuse for month-to-month tenancies or shorter remaining terms. In Quebec, the rule differs by route: a landlord can refuse a sublet only for a serious reason, but since a 2024 law change (Bill 31), a landlord can refuse a lease assignment without a serious reason, in that case your lease simply ends on the date you proposed to assign it, so you are still released. A refusal without a valid reason where one is required gives you grounds to apply to your provincial tenancy board or tribunal to challenge it.
Finding your own replacement tenant, subject to your landlord's approval of their application, usually moves faster than waiting for the landlord to find someone.
Option 3: Sublet instead
Subletting differs from assignment in one important way: you stay legally responsible for the lease. You hand the unit to a subtenant for part of your term, usually because you plan to come back, such as leaving for a co-op term or an exchange semester. If the subtenant stops paying rent or damages the unit, you are still on the hook to your landlord. Only sublet to someone you trust, and put the sublet terms in writing even if your landlord does not require it.
What happens if your landlord refuses to release you
If your landlord will not agree to a mutual termination and also refuses a reasonable assignment or sublet without a valid reason, your next step is your provincial tenancy authority:
Ontario: the Landlord and Tenant Board hears disputes over unreasonable refusal to assign or sublet, under the Residential Tenancies Act.
British Columbia: the Residential Tenancy Branch handles early termination disputes and dispute resolution hearings.
Quebec: the Tribunal administratif du logement rules on lease assignment and sublease disputes, and lists specific circumstances, such as admission to a seniors' residence or domestic violence, that let a tenant end a lease early outside the normal assignment process.
If you leave without any agreement or ruling in place, your landlord generally has a legal duty to try to re-rent the unit rather than let it sit empty while charging you full rent. In practice, this means you typically owe rent only until the unit is re-rented, or until a reasonable amount of time passes, not automatically for your entire remaining term. The exact rule depends on your province, so confirm with your tenancy board before you assume you are covered.
Protecting your deposit
Ontario does not use security deposits. Landlords collect only last month's rent in advance, which gets applied to your final month, not damage. BC allows a security deposit of up to half a month's rent, refundable if you leave the unit in good condition and give the correct notice. Quebec restricts deposits too, so confirm the current rule with the TAL before you pay one. Document the unit's condition with photos on move-in and move-out regardless of your province, since disputes over deposits and damage are common when a tenancy ends outside the normal lease-end date.
Before you sign anything
Read your lease for an early termination clause, often called a break clause, before you assume you need your landlord's cooperation to leave. Some leases, especially in private student housing buildings, include a set penalty for early termination that is cheaper and faster than negotiating an assignment. Compare that cost against months of rent under a full assignment negotiation before you decide which route to take.