Imagine for a moment that you’ve just signed a residential lease for a cute little property at your new assignment. Suddenly, with one fell swoop of an email, you’ve been notified that your orders have changed.
You're now headed to a completely different assignment. This baffling situation may remind you of placing a take-out order from a favorite fast food joint, “I’ll have an order of stress with a side of frustration...and super-size it, please!”
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Understanding the Servicemember Civil Relief Act (SCRA)
Thankfully, there is hope. A federal law called the Servicemember Civil Relief Act (SCRA) is a legal statement allowing an active duty member out of a lease with official military orders. Plain and simple.
Although the government allows you to leave your lease early under the SCRA, you have to move through the process legally and follow specific procedures. Including:
- Give written notice to the landlord of your intent to vacate due to military orders.
- Present a copy of your official military orders.
- Pay rent for the month in which you give notice.
- Pay rent for the following month.
Remaining honest and straightforward as you interact with your landlord may help ease this spontaneous transition. You may also want to book an appointment with the legal assistance office of the closest military installation for more information.
A legal professional can give you more details about the SCRA and inform you of state and local landlord and tenant laws. For example, when moving to Virginia, the guidelines of a rental agreement may differ from what is stated in a current lease in sunny California.
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What to Write in Your Intent to Vacate Letter
If you need help writing your letter of notice to your landlord with intent to vacate, consider the following suggestions.
- Make it short and sweet. There's no need for elaborate detail or lengthy paragraphs. Simply stated, "This letter is my written notice of intent to vacate."
- Share accurate contact information—you may not be the only tenant on your landlord's radar. Clarify who you are, where you live, and how to contact you.
- Highlight the timing. With military orders enclosed, define the exact date when you’ll depart the house. Explain that the next 30 days of rent will be paid and add the termination date—the last date of that month.
- Request the return of your security deposit. For a full refund of the security deposit, two things must occur. First, the letter of notice must reach the landlord promptly, and the residence must be vacated in favorable condition. State that the home has been left in good shape and confirm your new address to return your deposit.
If you've been completely open and honest with the landlord and provided written notice and a copy of your orders, the landlord cannot penalize you for breaking the lease and refuse to return your security deposit. However, it is within the landlord’s rights to withhold your security deposit if you leave the property damaged beyond normal wear and tear.
It’s a good idea to send the notice to your landlord via certified mail for security and tracking purposes.
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Adding a Military Clause to Your Next Lease
As you roll with this sudden change of assignment, another piece of the puzzle that may work in your favor for the next rental agreement is a military clause. It’s different than the SCRA because it could allow you to break a lease for additional reasons other than orders, like the chance to live on base or due to a move that’s less than the approved mileage for an official PCS.
The blog post, What Exactly Is a Military Clause? explains that a military clause may offer added tenant protection for a military member and their family. If a lease you're considering doesn’t have a military clause conducive to your needs, discuss with the landlord the terms you’d like to include for their benefit and your own.
Talk with your local military base’s legal office to help you with the best wording for your military clause.
Related: 3 Common Misconceptions About the Military Clause
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Is a Move into Military Housing Covered by a Military Clause?
The housing waitlist is epic at certain assignments, leaving you and your family unsure of how long you may be without a place to live, so renting an off-base home becomes the only option, but not necessarily your favorite option.
A military clause can release you from your lease if military housing becomes available if you and your landlord agree to create a military clause detailing military housing availability in the lease. A military clause is different from the SCRA because it isn’t federally mandated and doesn’t necessarily involve PCS orders.
What Exactly Is a Military Clause? says this about military housing and state laws, “State laws also supersede the military clause in a lease. Some military clauses state that if a military family is ordered into base housing (for example, a senior leader who is required to live in a certain housing billet), then the landlord must terminate the lease. In some states, however, the military family does not need orders to move into base housing; instead, they simply need to show that they’ve been moved off the housing waiting list and have been offered a house.”
If you work with your landlord, you could use a military clause to stipulate month-to-month renting guidelines. Or, you may come to an agreement with the landlord regarding the temporary nature of your housing needs.
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A Quick Review: SCRA vs. Military Clause
Just to review, if you need to break your lease due to official military orders, under the SCRA, your lease will terminate 30 days after the first date on which the next monthly rent payment is due. So, plan accordingly to cover rent for the following month even though you will not reside there.
A military clause is language in a lease that you and your landlord add that exempts you from your lease for various reasons that most often include available military housing or a short distance change in duty stations. For example, a move from the Pentagon to Fort Meade, Maryland, isn’t an official PCS, but the intense commute time warrants considering a short distance move.
Of course, the information included here is for discussion and informational purposes and is not meant to be taken as legal advice. To delve into the specifics of the rights of a servicemember when breaking a lease, you'll need to consult the experts. To do so, it may be as simple as making an appointment at a military installation legal office.
