Early termination fee calculator.What they can actually collect.

Most leases name a flat fee, typically two months of rent plus a fixed amount (often $500 to $1,000), payable at vacate. Cell phone contracts use a sliding scale that decreases each month, often combining a service ETF with a separately accelerated device installment loan. Gym contracts vary by state: some allow flat fees, some require prorated refunds of prepaid time, some are governed by health-club statutes that cap penalties at one month of dues plus actual costs. The contract number is the starting point, not the ending point.

The duty to mitigate is a legal requirement that the landlord make reasonable efforts to re-rent the unit after a tenant breaks the lease. About 40 states impose it, either by statute or by court decision (case law). When the duty applies, the landlord can only collect rent for the period the unit actually sat empty, not the full remaining term. Eight states have no duty to mitigate (notably Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, and some others), which means the landlord can sit on an empty unit and bill you the full remaining rent. Cell carriers and gyms have no mitigation duty in any state.

Yes, especially for leases. The landlord's interest is certainty of rent through the next tenancy. If you offer that (a confirmed replacement tenant, a signed sublease, or payment in installments), most landlords will accept a smaller flat fee in writing. The negotiation works best in writing, before vacate, with a deadline. Cell carriers will sometimes waive the device ETF if you port-out to another carrier and the new carrier pays the buyout. Gyms are usually firm on the contract ETF but flexible on payment schedule.

The contract doesn't disappear if you stop paying. For leases, the landlord typically sends the unpaid balance to collections within 60 to 90 days, which hits your credit report and stays for seven years. Future tenant screening reports show the prior balance and most large landlords reject applicants with unresolved lease debt. For cell contracts, the balance goes to collections faster (often 30 to 60 days) and the carrier may blacklist the device IMEI from their network. For gyms, the balance goes to collections and the gym may flag your bank account for repeat unsuccessful debit attempts, which can trigger overdraft fees. The 'just leave' path is often cheapest short-term and almost always expensive over the seven-year tail.

It depends on whether the fee is structured as liquidated damages (a reasonable estimate of actual costs, generally enforceable) or as a penalty (excessive relative to actual costs, generally unenforceable). Courts in mitigation-duty states often find blanket flat fees of two months rent unenforceable when the landlord re-rents in 30 days, because the actual damages were closer to one month of rent plus turnover costs. The California Court of Appeal in 2023 invalidated several lease ETFs that did not bear a reasonable relationship to actual damages. The doctrine varies state by state but the principle is universal: fees must be tied to actual costs, not punishment.

Compare the ETF against the remaining rent obligation honestly, including the cost of breaking the lease (moving, deposit forfeit if any, time off work) and the cost of not breaking it (double rent if you signed somewhere else, the new commute, missed start dates for a new job or school). The calculator surfaces both sides for you. As a rough rule: with three or fewer months left, riding out usually wins unless you have a confirmed start date elsewhere. With six or more months left and a real opportunity cost, the ETF often wins. The mitigation cap in your state is the swing factor.