How to cancel a timeshare

A timeshare is a long contract, often with an upfront payment, a loan and yearly maintenance fees. Cancelling it means ending that contract in the way the contract and the law allow. Two situations are very different, so work out which one you are in first.

• You signed recently and are still inside a rescission period, sometimes called a cooling-off period. This is a short window in which you can cancel after signing, and a timely letter can end the deal.
• The window has closed. You can no longer rescind, but the contract may have a notice path, and the resort may run its own process for owners who want to leave.

Find your paperwork before you do anything else. Look for the contract, any separate rescission or cancellation form, the contract or account number, and the address where cancellation notices must go. That address is often a sales office or a head office, not the resort where you stayed.

The FTC points out that the laws that govern timeshares are specific to the state where the property is located. The length of any rescission period is set by that state's law or by your contract, so the dates on your own documents come first.

The FTC's Cooling-Off Rule gives buyers three business days to cancel certain sales made away from the seller's permanent place of business, such as at your home, workplace or dormitory, or at a temporary location like a hotel room, convention center, fairground or restaurant. Your right to cancel for a full refund lasts until midnight of the third business day after the sale. Saturdays count as business days; Sundays and federal holidays do not.

The seller must give you two copies of a cancellation form. You keep one and mail the other to the address given for cancellations. The envelope must be postmarked before midnight of the third business day, and the FTC suggests certified mail. If you were never given a form, a letter works with the same deadline. After you cancel, the seller has 10 days to refund your money.

The Cooling-Off Rule excludes real estate, insurance and securities, and the FTC's guidance on the rule does not say whether a timeshare counts. The FTC's timeshare guidance instead says to ask about a right of rescission or cooling-off period, whose length may be set by state law or your contract, and to mail the seller a letter by certified mail with a return receipt if you cancel. Check the rescission period in your contract and in the law of the state where the property sits, and send your letter inside the shortest deadline you find.

Keep the letter short, plain and signed. A cancellation letter is a record of what you asked for and when, so every detail that identifies the contract should be in it.

• Your full name as it appears on the contract, your address and your email address.
• The contract number or account number, the date you signed and the name of the property or program.
• The words you are cancelling or rescinding the contract, with the wording the contract itself uses for the right, such as notice of rescission or notice of cancellation.
• A request to refund every payment you made and to stop all future billing, including any financing and maintenance charges.
• A request for written confirmation of the cancellation and its date.
• Your signature and the date. Keep a copy.

Our cancellation letter template fills in the same details in the right order, and our guide to how to write a cancellation letter explains each line.

If the clock is running, how you send the letter matters as much as what it says. Send it by Certified Mail with Return Receipt, as the FTC advises for timeshare cancellations. Certified Mail gives you a dated mailing receipt and a delivery record, and the return receipt adds the signature of the person who accepted it. Our guides on certified mail for cancellations and what is certified mail cover the details.

1. 1

   Use the address for notices

   Send the letter to the cancellation address printed in the contract or on the cancellation form. If the contract names a method, follow it.

2. 2

   Mail it early inside the window

   Check whether the deadline is the postmark date or the date the letter is received. Our cancellation deadline calculator helps you count the days. If receipt counts, allow for delivery time.

3. 3

   Keep everything together

   Store your copy of the letter, the postmarked receipt, the tracking number and the return receipt with the contract. USPS does not keep copies of your receipts.

4. 4

   Watch your statements

   If a payment or fee is taken after the date your cancellation should have taken effect, use your proof to ask for it back. Our guide on what to do when a company keeps charging you walks through the steps.

A closed rescission period does not always mean you are stuck. Re-read the contract for any other route out, and then deal with the company directly.

• The notice path in the contract. Some contracts have a notice period or a stated way to end membership or ownership. Our guide on how to cancel a contract with a notice period shows how to count the days and send the notice.
• The resort's own process. The FTC advises that you start by contacting the timeshare company directly. Some developers and management companies run programs that let owners give up a timeshare, and you can ask about your options before paying anyone.
• A written request. Ask in a signed letter for the exit options in writing, and send it by Certified Mail so you have a dated record.
• Your state attorney general. The FTC suggests reporting problems to the attorney general of the state where the timeshare is located.

Be wary of anyone who contacts you offering to get you out of a timeshare. The FTC lists unsolicited offers, guaranteed cancellation, large upfront fees and advice to stop paying your fees as warning signs of a scam. A letter you send yourself costs only postage.

Do not stop paying a loan or maintenance fees while you wait for an answer. Unpaid fees can build up, and the record you keep matters most if a dispute follows.

Questions about how we handle a letter for you are answered in our help center and on how it works.