>What happens when a tenant tries to terminate a fixed term tenancy?
Typically when a tenant agrees to a fixed term tenancy, usually for either 6 months or 1 year, the tenant is agreeing to be responsible for the rent for that period of time. If the tenant vacates the premises prior to the end of the term of the agreement, the tenant will typically still be responsible for payment of rent for the entire length of the lease (provided the tenancy is not in a jurisdiction that allows the tenant to give notice to prematurely end a fixed term tenancy). Typically, if the Landlord is able to re-rent the premises prior to the end of the lease of the breaching tenant, the breaching tenant is no longer required to pay rent as the landlord cannot collect double rent for the premises.
In addition, some leases may contain penalty clauses whereby the tenant is required to pay "re-rental fees" to cover part of the cost of the landlord having to re-rent the premises. However, the amount of the "re-rental fee" has to be reasonable and must be a pre-estimate of the damages that the Landlord will suffer in having to re-rent the premises early.