A broken lease will not appear on your credit report, but unpaid rent could be sent to collections, and a collection account can stay on your report for up to 7 years. A collection account will negatively impact your credit score, and you could be sued if the debt is not repaid. Court judgments do not appear on your credit report, but you could still be legally obligated to pay the balance.
Alternatives & Tips
If you need to break a lease, there are other options besides foregoing the rent payments, including offering your security deposit to subsidize the landlord’s losses, paying the rent until a new tenant is secured, or finding a subletter. Using one of these alternatives could prevent significant damage to your credit.
Finally, if you were negatively impacted by a broken lease, you can learn how to rebuild your credit and receive personalized tips to improve your score here at WalletHub.
This answer was first published on 11/02/22. For the most current information about a financial product, you should always check and confirm accuracy with the offering financial institution. Editorial and user-generated content is not provided, reviewed or endorsed by any company.
