The Tenant Broke the Lease: What Tennessee Requires of a Shelby County Landlord Before Collecting
A tenant hands back the keys with months left on the lease. Can you bill them for every remaining month? Tennessee’s landlord-tenant act says the rent can stay owed, but it also says you have to try to refill the unit, and the owner who can prove that effort is the one who gets paid.
Where this law applies
Tennessee’s Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act applies only in counties with a population above 75,000 under the 2010 census or a later one. Shelby County, Tennessee is above that line. Fayette County, Tennessee has far fewer residents, so a lease on a Somerville or Oakland rental in Fayette County may be governed by different rules, and an owner there should confirm with a Tennessee attorney before acting on anything below. Everything here addresses Shelby County, Tennessee rentals.
Two different problems wear the same label
“The tenant broke the lease” can mean the tenant is still in the unit and in breach, or that the tenant has left with months still on the term. Tennessee handles them in different sections, and mixing them up is how owners lose time and leverage.
If the tenant is still there, Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-505 governs. For a breach that can be cured by paying money, the landlord gives written notice specifying the breach and stating that the lease will end if it is not fixed within 14 days of receipt. For a breach that cannot be cured by payment, the notice sets a termination date at least 14 days after receipt. If substantially the same breach comes back within six months, termination can follow on at least seven days’ written notice. Our Shelby County eviction timeline covers what happens next in court.
If the tenant has left: the duty to rerent
When a tenant abandons the unit, § 66-28-507 says the landlord must use reasonable efforts to rerent the dwelling at a fair rental. If the landlord rerents for a term that begins before the old lease would have ended, the old lease terminates on the date the new tenancy begins. For month-to-month tenancies the term is treated as one month.
That is the heart of the issue. Section 66-28-505(c) preserves the landlord’s right to enforce the lease for rent over the remaining term, notwithstanding a termination notice. But the rerent duty in § 66-28-507 means the owner who lets the unit sit while billing the old tenant for six more months is on weak footing. The statute does not give a number of days or a checklist for “reasonable efforts,” so treat that phrase as something you must be able to prove with dated records.
The rent you can chase is limited by how fast you can show you tried to refill the unit.
A worked example, with made-up numbers
Take a hypothetical Memphis, TN house leased at $1,200 a month, with five months left when the tenant leaves. On paper the remaining rent is $6,000. Suppose you need 10 days to clean and repair, then list the home, and a new tenant starts 45 days after move-out. Under § 66-28-507(3) the old lease ends when the new tenancy begins, so the most the departed tenant could owe in rent for the gap is about 1.5 months, or $1,800, plus any lawful damages and the security deposit applied under the lease. If instead you had done nothing for 90 days, the $6,000 figure would look a lot less defensible. The $1,200 rent, 45-day gap and five-month term are illustrative assumptions, not a market figure or a prediction of what any court would award.
What you can and cannot add to the bill
Section 66-28-505(d) lets a landlord recover damages for a tenant’s noncompliance, and it allows reasonable attorney’s fees for breach of contract and nonpayment of rent as provided in the rental agreement. That last phrase matters: the statute does not hand out fees automatically, the lease does. Homefront’s leases make tenants responsible for legal fees arising from a breach, but whether any particular fee is recoverable in court is a question for your attorney. Section 66-28-507(1) separately lets a landlord recover actual damages when a tenant willfully fails to give required notice of an extended absence. Deposits are a separate track with their own deadlines; see our guide to security deposit rules in Shelby and Fayette counties.
Why speed is worth money this year
Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey as of October 29, 2026 put the 30-year fixed rate at 7.24%, down from 7.32% a week earlier and up from 6.17% a year earlier. That is an owner-occupied benchmark; investor loans price above it. At those rates, a vacant month is a month of full debt service with no rent, which is why cutting days out of a turnover usually beats arguing about who owes the gap. Our breakdown of what a move-out costs shows how quickly the days add up.
Building a record a judge can follow
Start the clock the day you learn the tenant is gone, and keep every step dated. Photograph the unit, confirm the abandonment facts before you retake possession (our abandonment guide covers the notice and the 30-day belongings rule), and list the home at a fair rent promptly. Save the listing, the showing log and every applicant decision. Screen new applicants the way you always do; a fast bad tenant is worse than a slow good one, and tenant screening is paid by the applicant. Then total your claim: rent through the day the new tenancy starts, documented damages beyond normal wear, and fees only to the extent your lease provides.
A lease-break checklist
- Sort the situation. Tenant still in the unit means the § 66-28-505 notice process; tenant gone means the rerent duty applies.
- Start marketing immediately. Dated listing, photos and a rent supported by comparable homes in Shelby County, Tennessee.
- Keep the paper trail. Showings, applications, repair invoices and every contact attempt.
- Bill only what the record supports. Rent to the new tenancy start date, plus lawful damages and lease-based fees.
- Get advice before suing. A small-claims or general sessions filing is a legal decision.
If you own a rental in Memphis or Germantown, TN and want a team that documents every step of a turnover, we can talk through how that works on a managed property. This is general information about Tennessee law, not legal advice. The statute text referenced above is from Justia’s 2021 code, and newer versions exist, so verify against the current official code or ask an attorney before acting.
Sources & further reading: Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-505; § 66-28-507; § 66-28-102 (Justia, 2021 code); Freddie Mac PMMS, as of October 29, 2026. The $1,200 rent, five-month term and 45-day gap are hypothetical assumptions used for illustration.