Generally, when a tenant breaks a lease, the landlord is required to attempt to lease the house to someone else, i.e., to mitigate the loss.
The current tenant will be liable for the rent until a new lease is started. If, for some reason, the market requires that the new lease be for a smaller monthly payment, the current tenant could be liable for the difference. If the landlord fails to use reasonable efforts to find a new lessee, the current tenant will not be liable for the lost rent.
Under no circumstances will the current tenant be liable for almost three years of rent. In fact, I cannot imagine that he’d be liable for more than two months after he moves out. It’s best just to work the situation out with the landlord rather than take an adversarial position.
This is not legal advice, and your friend should consult a landlord-tenant lawyer.
