Breaking a lease in Idaho

Idaho's landlord-tenant statutes give a tenant no general right to end a fixed-term lease early and set no rule on re-renting after a tenant leaves. Court decisions on those questions were not read.

Idaho Code title 6, ch. 3 Idaho Code title 55, ch. 3

• A court may issue a domestic violence protection order that excludes the respondent from a shared dwelling. The statute does not give the protected tenant a right to end the lease. Idaho Code § 39-6306
• Notice of nonrenewal is a separate rule: give it at least 30 days before a residential lease ends. Idaho Code § 55-304(2) See Not renewing a lease on the Idaho page

Either side may end a month-to-month (at will) tenancy with written notice of not less than one month. Your notice must be served in the manner the code of civil procedure prescribes and tell the tenant to leave within the period it names; the tenant's notice names a move-out date at least one month after the notice.

Idaho Code § 55-208(1) Idaho Code § 55-208(2)

• You may retake possession, or go to court, only after the notice period has run. Idaho Code § 55-209
• A tenant at will who stays after the notice has run is holding over, which is unlawful detainer. Idaho Code § 6-303(1) See Eviction process on the Idaho page
• A 30-day notice is shorter than one month when it runs through a 31-day month, so count by the calendar month. Idaho Code § 55-208