You may be eligible to end (terminate) your lease without penalty if you (the tenant) are a victim of any of the following or if you are the parent/guardian of a child who is the victim of any of the following:

• sexual assault;
• aggravated sexual assault;
• indecency with a child;
• sexual performance by a child;
• continuous sexual abuse of young child or disabled individual;
• an attempt to commit any of the above acts; or
• stalking.¹

The sexual assault, sexual abuse, or stalking must have taken place within the past six months either in the home or somewhere on the property (the premises).²

¹ TX Property Code § 92.0161(b), (c), (c-1)
² TX Property Code § 92.0161(c), (c-1)

To terminate your lease, you must meet all of the following criteria:

1. you have one of the following:
   • a temporary or permanent family violence protective order (explained here);
   • a temporary injunction, issued as part of divorce proceeding that meets the terms of TX Family Code § 6.501;
   • a magistrate’s order of emergency protection issued after the abuser was arrested for an offense involving family violence, sexual assault, stalking, or trafficking;
   • documentation of family violence against you (the tenant) or an occupant from any of the following people:
     • a licensed health care services provider who examined the victim;
     • a licensed mental health services provider who examined or evaluated the victim; or
     • an advocate who assisted the victim;
2. you must give the landlord a copy of one of the above-mentioned orders or documentation;
3. at least 30 days before the date on which you intend to end the lease, you must give the landlord written notice in which you state your plans to terminate the lease; and
4. you vacate (leave) the apartment or home on the day that you indicated in step # 3.¹

If the abuser is a co-tenant or occupant of your residence, you do not have to give the landlord 30 days’ advance notice of your lease termination. Instead, you can terminate your lease by completing steps #1 and #2, above, and you must vacate (leave) the apartment or home.²

¹ TX Property Code § 92.016(b), (b-1), (c)
² TX Property Code § 92.016(c-1)

Even if you terminate your lease, you will still have to pay the landlord any unpaid rent or other money that you already owed to the landlord before the lease was terminated, including rent for the month that you will be living there after you give the 30 days’ notice of termination. You will not have to pay rent for the months that would have been left on the lease after you leave the apartment or dwelling, assuming that you properly followed all of the steps.¹

However, one thing to note is that according to the law, all leases must have language that says something like this: “Tenants may have special statutory rights to terminate the lease early in certain situations involving family violence or a military deployment or transfer.” If your lease does not have language like that, then the law states that you are not even responsible for any unpaid rent that you owed to your landlord before you ended your lease.²

If you are unsure whether or not you owe rent, you may want to talk to a lawyer who is familiar with these laws.

¹ TX Property Code § 92.016(d)
² TX Property Code § 92.016(f)

Resource Links:

• Know the Laws – By State | WomensLaw.org
• Texas Property Code Section 92.016 – Right to Vacate and Avoid Liability Following Family Violence (public.law)