Forfeiting a security deposit due to a lease break is a common practice that landlord abide by whenever a tenant chooses to break their apartment lease.  Most tenants do not realize that when they sign a leasing agreement, it’s signed for a reason.  It’a binding contract between a landlord and a lessee.  Therefore, both sign it at must follow it until it expires.  If a tenant breaches the contract and vacates the property before the lease is over, then a tenant will face consequences as stated on the agreement.    What happens to my security deposit? Security deposit is a separate issue and is not subjected to whether tenant breaks lease or not.  Security deposit is used strictly to cover cleaning and especially damage costs after the tenant moves out.  Therefore, a landlord cannot keep the security deposit for convenience. It can only be applied for valid costs and landlord must itemize any deductions from the security deposit and the rest of it must be returned to previous tenant within 30 days time. However, it may also depend on the wording of your lease and the particular landlord tenant laws in your state.  If security deposit is dependent on an early termination clause in the lease the tenant has signed, then the tenant must abide by these terms. Forfeiting a security deposit due to lease break could be a caveat on many of the lease agreements.  Always refer to an agreement before putting your signature next to it.