How much does the tenant pay for leaving before the contract expires?

Under the 2026 law, only what was agreed as compensation, up to a maximum of two months of the agreed rent (article 24). If the contract did not provide for it, the law provides for none.

How much notice do you have to give?

The 2026 law sets no notice period in days. It allows notice to an agreed email address if there is proof of sending and receipt (article 21); also check what your contract says.

Can the owner ask for the home back early because they need it?

In contracts under the 2026 law, the owner's need is not a ground in article 23. That leaves the expiry of the term, an agreement with the tenant or a ground agreed in the contract.

Do I lose the deposit if I leave early?

Article 18 requires the full deposit to be returned within the 15 calendar days following the end of the relationship, after inspecting the property; whatever repairs are due and duly proven overdue services are deducted from it. It does not distinguish between an early exit and expiry.

What happens if my contract started before August 7, 2026?

If the tenant already occupied the home on that date, the 2011 law applies. Its article 51 allows the tenant not to continue by giving notice before the end of the term, without prejudice to paying compensation or the remaining rent.

Ending a lease early in Venezuela

Yes, but the rules are different for tenant and landlord, and depend on which law governs your contract.

First: which law governs your contract

The Ley del Régimen Especial de Arrendamiento de Inmuebles Destinados a Vivienda (Special Regime Law for Residential Leases) was published in Gaceta Oficial No. 7.065 Extraordinario of August 7, 2026 and took effect that day (Disposición Final Única, its sole final provision). Under its article 2:

It applies only to housing leases agreed or formalized after it took effect.

It excludes homes the tenant already occupied under a lease on that date, "mientras persista esa posesión" (for as long as that possession continues). Those relationships are still governed by the Ley para la Regularización y Control de los Arrendamientos de Vivienda (Law for the Regularization and Control of Housing Leases, 2011) and the anti-eviction decree.

Renewing the contract, or signing a new one, with a tenant who already occupied the home before August 7, 2026 does not by itself move it to the 2026 law. The law does not expressly say what happens with those renewals (its article 13 mentions "prórroga o renovación" (extension or renewal) only for the rent adjustment). If this is your case, consult a lawyer. The full differences are in the comparison between the 2011 and 2026 laws.

The five ways a contract ends

Article 22 of the 2026 law says a housing lease ends:

When the agreed term, or the term set by law, expires.

By mutual consent or agreement between the parties.

Through one of the law's grounds for early termination (the grounds in article 23).

By the tenant's unilateral decision, on the terms of the law (article 24).

Through the total destruction of the property by fortuitous event or force majeure.

The parties agree on the duration; if they did not agree on one, it is one year (article 11). If, when it expires, neither party states its wish to end it, the contract continues on the same terms.

The law sets no notice period in days for any of these exits. It does allow notice to be given to an email address the parties have designated, if there is reliable proof of sending and receipt (article 21).

If the tenant wants to leave early

Article 24 allows the tenant, "en cualquier momento y de manera unilateral" (at any time and unilaterally), to end the contract. No reason is needed.

On the cost of leaving early:

The parties can agree that this exit gives rise to compensation.

That compensation is up to two months of the agreed rent.

If it was not agreed, the law provides for no compensation.

The law is orden público (public policy) (article 5), and agreements are valid if they do not contradict it (article 6). If your contract sets a penalty higher than two months, or a notice period, ask a lawyer to review the clause.

Unless otherwise agreed, the services the tenant contracted (electricity, water, gas, garbage collection, internet and others) are the tenant's responsibility until the date the property is handed back (article 19). It is advisable to give written notice, hand back the property with an inspection and keep proof.

If the landlord wants the home back

The 2026 law does not give the landlord a right to end the contract at will, like the tenant's. Article 23 allows the landlord to sue before the competent authority, or to request early rescission, in these cases:

Ground	Article 23
Failure to pay the rent for three consecutive periods	Numeral 1
Failure to pay public utilities (water, electricity, garbage collection and others in the contract) for three consecutive months	Numeral 2
Assigning or transferring the contract, or subletting, without the landlord's authorization	Numeral 3
Major damage not caused by normal use, or unauthorized alterations	Numeral 4
Use or purpose different from the one in the contract, or use contrary to the law	Numeral 5
Abandonment of the property	Numeral 6
The grounds set in the contract	Numeral 7

If the competent authority declares one of those grounds, eviction follows. Only a tribunal de municipio (municipal court) or a tribunal arbitral (arbitral tribunal) can issue the eviction order (article 27). Disputes can go to conciliation, mediation, arbitration or to the tribunal de municipio through the juicio breve (summary proceeding) (article 25). The step by step is in the eviction guide.

The owner's need to occupy the home is not among the grounds in the 2026 law. Outside the grounds in numerals 1 to 6, the text leaves three paths:

Wait for the contract to expire and state that they do not want to continue, so the contract does not carry on under the same terms (articles 11 and 22, numeral 1).

Negotiate the exit with the tenant (article 22, numeral 2).

A ground agreed in the contract (article 23, numeral 7).

The Código Civil (Civil Code), which applies on a supplementary basis (article 6), points the same way: contracts have the force of law between the parties and can only be revoked by mutual consent or for reasons authorized by law (article 1.159). If one party does not perform, the other can ask a court for performance or termination, with damages where applicable (article 1.167).

What happens with the deposit and penalties

If agreed, the deposit (or, in its place, an insurance policy) is up to three months' rent; the law provides for it to guarantee the upkeep of the property and the payment of overdue services (article 16). The details are in the security deposit guide.

When the relationship ends, by whatever route, article 18 requires the landlord to:

Return the full deposit within the 15 calendar days following the end of the relationship, after inspecting the property and confirming it is in the same condition in which the tenant received it.

If it is not, deduct whatever repairs are due and duly proven overdue services.

If the deposit was given in foreign currency, it can be returned in bolívares at the Banco Central de Venezuela (BCV, the central bank) rate on the day of the refund, only if the parties agree.

Article 18 does not distinguish between an early exit and expiry, and does not mention deducting from the deposit the article 24 compensation or outstanding rent. If the contract says otherwise, consult a lawyer.

For other penalties in the contract, the 2026 law has no rules of its own. The Código Civil defines the cláusula penal (penalty clause) as compensation for the damages caused by not performing the main obligation; the creditor cannot claim the obligation and the penalty at the same time, unless the penalty was agreed for mere delay (articles 1.257 and 1.258). The judge can reduce the penalty when the main obligation was partly performed (article 1.260).

Contracts still under the 2011 law

If the tenant already occupied the home before August 7, 2026, other rules apply:

Tenant's exit: article 51 sets a minimum term of one year and allows the tenant to state, before the term ends, their wish not to continue, "sin perjuicio de tener que pagar indemnizaciones o cánones restantes" (without prejudice to having to pay compensation or the remaining rent). The law sets no cap on that compensation.

Exit sought by the landlord: eviction is available on the grounds in article 91, among them four unpaid rent payments without justified cause and the justified need of the owner, or of a blood relative up to the second degree, to occupy the home (with at least 90 calendar days' notice before the contract ends). The last paragraph of that article preserves actions on other grounds or under general law (derecho común), and article 44 reserves to the landlord the right to seek termination if the tenant sublets without express written authorization or assigns the contract.

Deposit: the 2011 law has no article on the security deposit equivalent to articles 16 to 18 of the 2026 law.

In these contracts, before suing, the landlord must go through a prior procedure before the Superintendencia Nacional de Arrendamiento de Vivienda (the national housing-lease authority) (article 94). Before an early exit under either law, consult a lawyer.

Can a rental contract be ended early?