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

A tenant may sue only after giving you 3 days' written notice listing each failure and demanding performance or cure. If a listed problem is not fixed within 3 days after service, the tenant may sue for damages and specific performance. The only repair-and-deduct right in the statute is for smoke detectors (Idaho Code § 6-320(d); Idaho Code § 6-320(a)(6)).

• The tenant serves the notice by handing it to you or your agent, by leaving it with an employee at your usual place of business when you are absent, or by certified mail, return receipt requested (Idaho Code § 6-323).
• In an action only for specific performance, the court sets trial within 12 days of filing and you must be served at least 5 days before trial; a damages claim follows the ordinary schedule (Idaho Code § 6-320(a)).
• Damages may be tripled. The prevailing party is entitled to attorney fees, except where treble damages are awarded (Idaho Code § 6-317; Idaho Code § 6-324).
• If you do not install working smoke detectors within 72 hours after receiving the tenant's certified-mail notice, the tenant may install them and deduct the cost from the next month's rent; the detectors then belong to you (Idaho Code § 6-320(a)(6)).See Smoke alarms on the Idaho page
• Keep a repair file identifying the unit, the condition, when it began and any earlier reports. Add dated photographs and messages, describe how the problem affects use of the home and retain proof of delivery. A routine maintenance message and the formal notice used before a lawsuit are different steps; follow the notice content and service requirements above rather than assuming every message starts that process (Idaho Code § 6-320(d); Idaho Code § 6-323).

Idaho has no statute that sets a general rule on subletting a home. The lease controls, so state in it whether the tenant needs your written consent (Idaho Code title 55, chapter 3).

• Assigning or subletting against the lease is a ground for an unlawful detainer case. The statute lists it both as a breach the tenant may cure within 3 days of notice and as one that ends the lease after a 3-day notice to quit (Idaho Code § 6-303(3), (4)).
• The remedies you have against the tenant for a breach of the lease or to recover possession also apply against the tenant's assignee, for causes that arise while the assignee holds the lease (Idaho Code § 55-302).

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).

Refund the deposit within 21 days after the tenant surrenders the home, unless the lease fixes another time, and in every case within 30 days after surrender. You may keep only amounts needed for the contingencies the deposit arrangement specifies, and never any part for normal wear and tear (Idaho Code § 6-321(1); Idaho Code § 6-321(2)).

• A partial refund must come with a signed statement itemizing the amounts kept, the purpose of each, and a detailed list of expenditures made from the deposit (Idaho Code § 6-321(2)).
• Normal wear and tear is deterioration from the intended use of the unit without negligence, carelessness, accident, misuse or abuse by the tenant, household members, invitees or guests (Idaho Code § 6-321(1)).
• If the property changes owners during the tenancy, the new owner is liable for refunding the deposits (Idaho Code § 6-321(3)).
• Failing to return a deposit as the law requires is a ground for a tenant's lawsuit, after the tenant gives you 3 days' written notice demanding it. Damages in that suit may be tripled (Idaho Code § 6-320(a)(4); Idaho Code § 6-320(d); Idaho Code § 6-317).See Tenant repair remedies on the Idaho page
• The clock runs from surrender of the premises. The statute does not tie it to a forwarding address (Idaho Code § 6-321(2)).
• Idaho counts a period by excluding the first day and including the last, unless the last day is a holiday (every Sunday is one), in which case it is excluded too (Idaho Code § 73-109; Idaho Code § 73-108).