(Breaking) Military Clauses in Leases

[Herk Driver]

ha ha! Thank you! a friend of mine, who went through this battle, is the one that gave me that info! I thought I would pass it along!

Something doesn't make sense though:

If she enetered the lease, before she got married to him, that doesn't sound like a "spouse who enters a lease on your hehalf"-- How could she have entered the lease on "his behalf" if she entered the lease before she married him?

Kayla, I'm no lawyer but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. That being said, I know that base legal at base X successfully argued with a property manager that this was precisely the case. I would argue that once you get married then you are continuing whatever lease you have on behalf of your military spouse and by the fact that the landlord allowed the spouse to move in that s/he took that military member on as a tenant, through action or inaction. Plus the fact that the spouse's name is printed on the PCS orders as well. One could also argue that they had intended to get married for some time and that the future spouse entered the lease knowing that the military member would ultimately move in after they got married. Not sure that the wording is 100% correct in Sect 305, but I know what the precedent has been and what the intent of the Congress was at the time they passed the law.

In the end, it is best if the sponsor goes in and has his/her name added to the lease once moved into the apartment so that there is no problem down the road. There have been cases where the landlord was willing to release the military member from the lease, but said the spouse still had to honor the contract since their name was on the lease as well. Base legal is the best advocate in cases like these. The military can bring a lot of pressure on a landlord or rental/realty company. Besides the fact that they can be fined fairly heavily, the base could put them off-limits which in lots of small military communities can have a large effect on the bottom line.

I, for one, have never had these problems. However, I usually only put my name on the lease unless the company "requires" me to put my spouse on their as well. It just makes it clear cut. I also make sure that there is a "military clause" regardless of what the SCRA says. Once again, it just makes things easier when it comes time to leave. But, I wouldn't hesitate to use all the resources available to get the landlord to capitulate and then make sure that I got the word out to everyone I knew in the local area to not get an apartment/house whatever from that company or landlord. Word of mouth is your best weapon.

[Guest Cypher220]

I'm looking to break my lease when I PCS to my first assignment at the end of March and it looks like I'll be in this same situation as some of you here. Unfortunately I haven't been able to locate my copy of the lease after digging through my important papers, but I am pretty sure my 4 roommates and I signed the same piece of paper saying we'll pay a combined amount for the house we're renting. I'll have to ask my landlord for another copy to be sure, but if this were the case it looks like they could potentially have to pay my share if I break from the lease. Either way, I'll probably just have to go in and discuss the situation with my landlord.

ENJJPTStud- how did this all work out for you?

Has anyone else been through this recently?

[Murph]

All the above is correct. I was in a similar situation, sharing a place with a buddy of mine. I got my OTS orders and the Leasing Office didn't want to let me break the lease. As already stated, the SSRA covers leases that don't have the military clause. I had to get the Moody JA office involved it got so bad. They didn't have to help me out and I think they're not allowed to anyways but I was being threatened with lawsuits and crap. The unfortunate part is that he was then responsible for ALL of the rent. Good luck.

[Herk Driver]

I had to get the Moody JA office involved it got so bad. They didn't have to help me out and I think they're not allowed to anyways but I was being threatened with lawsuits and crap.

They can help; there's just a limit to what they can do. They can't represent you in court or anything but you'd be surprised how a letter or two from the JAG office can help out.

No one wants to be singled out by the base. (i.e. being put off limits, etc)

[Guest Fogo]

They can help; there's just a limit to what they can do. They can't represent you in court or anything but you'd be surprised how a letter or two from the JAG office can help out.

No one wants to be singled out by the base. (i.e. being put off limits, etc)

Beat me to the point Herk Driver, but you hit it head on.

Some will try to say it had to be in your lease, which obviously isn't true because of the servicemember statute. But if they still don't buy it, it won't take them long to change their mind if you have a source document AND mention you'll be talking to the JAG.

[Slander]

If anyone in FL is having a hard time getting out of their leases, PM me. I'm going through absolute hell with Coastal Property Services, inc. based in Tallahassee and am most likely going to have to take them to court to get my security deposit back. I'm pretty well familiar with the SRCA and the applicable FL laws now...

If you can believe it, when I first told them (90 days ahead) that I needed to break the lease due to military orders the douche pump property manager's first question was "Well did you volunteer for active duty so you could break the lease?" Yeah dickface, I volunteered so I could get out of your shitbag lease. Asshole. So I finally convince them (with orders, a letter from the Det/CC, and a letter from me) that I really did need to move more than 35 miles away. We agree that I needed to terminate the lease on June 1 and I owed May rent (my EAD was June 9). Then I get a call 45 days after I move out and turn in my keys wondering where my June rent was. I told them it was in my bank account and to chow my hog, they told me that my lease was not terminated and that I owed June rent. Peculiar, I thought, since I was on active duty somewhere else in June. Further investigation showed that our hero (douche rocket manager) didn't remember that I gave him all my personal information and orders in March and hadn't bothered to terminate the lease. Once I got the property owner (FSU administration) involved, it went away, I thought. Wrong. 6 weeks later I got a letter saying I had damaged the apartment (I hadn't) and owed them $200 in addition to my deposit. Fvck that. Too bad for them they only have 30 days to notify me (according to FL law), but our hero had sneakily pre-dated the notification letter. The bummer was that he didn't mail it until August.

I'm still waiting for my check, and I hate this company and that douche. If anyone wants to contact him and let him know how much his help he's been in supporting a new officer let me know. I know it's not someone pretending to be a fighter pilot or anything important like that, but if you're bored and want to send a dickhead a nasty-gram, I'll give you his email address.

Side note -- if I don't get my money by the end of the month I'm reporting them to FL consumer protection and the BBB (as well as taking them to court). I already mailed a letter to the president of the management company (with courtesy copies to the FSU President, Vice President and several other members of the administration) detailing this asshat's buffoonery and douchebaggery. Any other ideas on how I can get back at this lame excuse of a business?

Sorry, just had to vent. Back to lurking.

[drewpey]

apartmentratings.com

[edcadore]

Wake up thread!

I've read through this thread and I just want clarification on something. I live with a civilian roommate and I will be commissioning/PCSn to first duty assignment this May. We both signed the apartment lease, is it safe to assume he is going to get screwed and I am going to get out of it? Or slim chance the whole lease will be canceled?

[Slander]

Wake up thread!

I've read through this thread and I just want clarification on something. I live with a civilian roommate and I will be commissioning/PCSn to first duty assignment this May. We both signed the apartment lease, is it safe to assume he is going to get screwed and I am going to get out of it? Or slim chance the whole lease will be canceled?

If you signed individual leases you're good and he's screwed. If you signed one lease if you break it the agreement is broken and he's good too. Either way you're good.

TITLE III – RENT, INSTALLMENT CONTRACTS, MORTGAGES, LIENS, ASSIGNMENT, LEASES

Formerly cited as 50 U.S.C. App. § 530

§ 535. Termination of residential or motor vehicle leases [sec. 305]

(a) Termination by lessee

The lessee on a lease described in subsection (b) may, at the lessee's option, terminate the lease at any

time after--

(1) the lessee's entry into military service; or

(2) the date of the lessee's military orders described in paragraph (1)(B) or (2)(B) of subsection (b), as the

case may be.

(b) Covered leases

This section applies to the following leases:

(1) Leases of premises

A lease of premises occupied, or intended to be occupied, by a servicemember or a servicemember's

dependents for a residential, professional, business, agricultural, or similar purpose if--

(A) the lease is executed by or on behalf of a person who thereafter and during the term of the lease

enters military service; or

(B) the servicemember, while in military service, executes the lease and thereafter receives military

orders for a permanent change of station or to deploy with a military unit for a period of not less than 90

days.

(d) Effective date of lease termination

(1) Lease of premises

In the case of a lease described in subsection (b)(1) that provides for monthly payment of rent,

termination of the lease under subsection (a) is effective 30 days after the first date on which the next

rental payment is due and payable after the date on which the notice under subsection © is delivered. In

the case of any other lease described in subsection (b)(1), termination of the lease under subsection (a)

is effective on the last day of the month following the month in which the notice is delivered.

What does that mean to you? First, this law supersedes whatever military clause is in your lease if your landlord has intent to screw you (mine did leaving college). You did not waive your rights under this law unless it specifically says so (that's covered in a previous section of this law). Second, you need to provide your landlord 30 days minimum notice of your intent to terminate the lease. When you provide that notice of intent, include a copy of your PCS orders to somewhere else for longer than 90 days. Make them sign and date it and give you a copy. Don't lose that copy, you may need it to prove you did your part later. Depending on what state you live in there may be additional requirements of the landlord with regards to how long he may retain your security deposit. In Arizona, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, and Wisconsin, (the only places I've researched) they must repay your or send you written notification of their intent to charge within 30 days of lease termination. Your lease terminates on the last day of the month you've paid rent through. Example: You have a RNLTD of 15 May. You provide your landlord intent to terminate the lease on 15 April and agree to pay a prorated month's rent for 14 days on May 1. Most landlords assume a 28 day month regardless of how many days are actually in the month. You must vacate the premises by 15 May and return the keys, etc. Your lease is terminated at 11:59PM on 15May. They have until 15 June to either: return your deposit in full, or send you a letter detailing why they aren't returning it.

If you have a problem with your landlord, you can talk to the JAG, but likely he will tell you to pound sand. You may have to retain an outside attorney. Generally, a $100 letter from an attorney with their lettercranium on it will get you what you want.

I had a really bad experience with a landlord who told me that "the lease signed superseeded federal law" and asked me if I joined the service just to get out of the lease. I took him to court and won my security deposit, attorney's fees, and damages. Don't let these guys assfvck you.

Source Document:

http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/supmanual/cch/200911/scra.pdf

[Boomer6]

Situation:

I report for OTS April 9th. I will have Active Duty orders as of April 5th. I gave my leasing agent notice yesterday and in doing so referenced the Military Clause portion of the lease (notice given 54 days prior to OTS report date, but 50 days prior to actually receiving orders) and they said "that clause only applies if you're being shipped over seas, and going to actively* fight for our country". Which based on this thread sounds false. They then proceeded to add up a bill of $3040 in fees for me to terminate the lease early.

I spoke with the office manager today and she claimed that if the orders "check out with our lawyer" on April 5th, then I'll be required to pay through the month of April because their military clause states the lease will be terminated 30 days after they receive my orders. Luckily she said I won't have to pay early termination fees if the "orders check out"...hurray...

My question is this:

Was the office manager correct in her in her assertion that I will have to pay through the month of April, or will I be able to simply pay a pro-rated amount with the lease ending on April 5th?

I will actually be moving my belongings (and thus vacating the premises) back home for storage March 9th, so I'm looking at finding an attorney (hopefully pro bono STS...) to clear this up before I move several states away. Any insight or advice that you guys can add on this situation would be greatly appreciated

[Slander]

Situation:

I report for OTS April 9th. I will have Active Duty orders as of April 5th. I gave my leasing agent notice yesterday and in doing so referenced the Military Clause portion of the lease (notice given 54 days prior to OTS report date, but 50 days prior to actually receiving orders) and they said "that clause only applies if you're being shipped over seas, and going to actively* fight for our country". Which based on this thread sounds false. They then proceeded to add up a bill of $3040 in fees for me to terminate the lease early.

No, this is wrong.

I spoke with the office manager today and she claimed that if the orders "check out with our lawyer" on April 5th, then I'll be required to pay through the month of April because their military clause states the lease will be terminated 30 days after they receive my orders. Luckily she said I won't have to pay early termination fees if the "orders check out"...hurray...

Also wrong.

My question is this:

Was the office manager correct in her in her assertion that I will have to pay through the month of April, or will I be able to simply pay a pro-rated amount with the lease ending on April 5th?

You should be able to only pay a prorated amount through the day on which your lease terminates. You can select that day based on your PCS date, but be reasonable. You can try for March 9th, but expect that they'll make you stay through the end of March at the earliest (i.e. March 30th lease termination).

I will actually be moving my belongings (and thus vacating the premises) back home for storage March 9th, so I'm looking at finding an attorney (hopefully pro bono STS...) to clear this up before I move several states away. Any insight or advice that you guys can add on this situation would be greatly appreciated

You shouldn't need an attorney. Most states have the landlord tenant laws on their state websites and it's pretty easy to find the military lease termination laws. Additionally, if there isn't anything in the state law, the federal law (Servicemembers Civil Relief Act) takes precedence. What it says is that if you receive PCS orders to a duty station >69 miles away (or so, I think it's 90 actually) that you can break the lease without penalty. I don't feel like looking all that up for you, you should do that, but it'll be 45 minutes well spent. Print out the law, highlight the parts that apply, bring it to the leasing office, speak to the property manager. Document that discussion. If she doesn't help, call the corporate office of whatever company owns the property and speak to the property manger's boss. I've had this fight a couple times and it usually doesn't go past the part of showing them the federal law they're attempting to violate. Make sure that when you move out you have them inspect your apartment and keep a copy of that inspection in case they attempt to recover "damages" to the apartment after the fact from your security deposits.

PM me if you need more help than that.

Edit to add:

Dude, look 1 post up from yours, when I spent the time to go through all the laws and find the applicable ones for a similar situation. Nice job using the search function, but...

Edited February 16, 2013 by FSUBadger

[RescueRandy]

I'm no lawyer, but I've never seen a lease with a military clause that only applies for deployment. Any time we've rented somewhere and subsequently had to leave because of PCS orders, we were released from our leased free and clear. We did not have to pay through the end of the lease, and in all cases our security deposit was returned (less cleaning expenses, etc).

I'm not saying that your lease is the same or your landlord is going to be so forgiving, but it's doesn't make a lot of sense for a military clause to only apply for a deployment... in most cases, you would retain your house while deployed and only vacate if PCSing.

Weird.

[Smokin]

It doesn't really matter what your lease says as far as a military clause; the previously mentioned federal law trumps your lease. That's why they passed the law. Since you gave them the requisite 30 days notice, you cannot legally be charged a penalty for leaving early. If they try to charge you, they are violating federal law and their lawyer probably knows this. However, if you have not had written or electronic proof that you gave this notice, I would do that ASAP so they can't try to claim you didn't give notice. From what you're saying, it sounds like the landlord is not the most reputable, so I would also make sure you take pictures or video of the apartment as you're leaving in case they try to claim damages from your deposit.

[BQZip01]

It doesn't really matter what your lease says as far as a military clause; the previously mentioned federal law trumps your lease. That's why they passed the law. Since you gave them the requisite 30 days notice, you cannot legally be charged a penalty for leaving early. If they try to charge you, they are violating federal law and their lawyer probably knows this. However, if you have not had written or electronic proof that you gave this notice, I would do that ASAP so they can't try to claim you didn't give notice. From what you're saying, it sounds like the landlord is not the most reputable, so I would also make sure you take pictures or video of the apartment as you're leaving in case they try to claim damages from your deposit.

Big friggin' TWO on that one

I got into an apartment when I was a 2LT and made the mistake of trying to be honest and say I will be breaking my lease due to a military move, but didn't yet know when. They tried to claim the apartment was destroyed; glad I had pictures. Lost my deposit, but they didn't come after me for the alleged $6K in damages either.

Sadly, the same kind of thing happened again in Nav school except this time I was renting from a military family. No problems at ALL until I tried to move out and the owner claimed all of the carpet was irreparable and in an awful condition due to my alleged neglect. The carpet was 8 years old and needed to be replaced anyway, but she claimed I had done all the wear and tear and that the carpet was "like new" when I moved in. Truth is she promised the next tenants that she would put in new carpet and just wanted me to pay for uber-premium carpet (new, the carpet was worth ~$2.5K and she wanted $6K). I found out later that this same lady tried to pull the same scam on the next tenants too.

[billy pilgrim]

Boomer6,

I just dealt with a similar issue a few months ago, and it was the first time I have had a negative experience with a landlord. Here's what I took away from it:

1) Take tons of pictures when you move in and when you move out.

2) Document everything wrong and all correspondence through e-mail so you have records. Avoid using the phone as that will turn into he said, she said...

3) If you still have issues the housing office on base can help you out a little - you can file a complaint against the landlord which can cost them future business.

4) The Better Business Bureau is your friend. www.bbb.org If you cannot get your issue resolved with the landlord, bring them in to intercede on your behalf.

5) Some states have laws that will allow you to get double (WA state) or even triple your deposit back if it's not returned to you in a timely matter (two weeks in WA if I remember) or if they are keeping it for BS reasons and you show this. If you take them to small claims court, it's cheap, and no lawyers are involved - but it can be a bit of a pain.

In my case, pictures, documentation and the BBB allowed me to get my full deposit back after being threatened to pay for items that were wrong with the house when we moved in (and documented but never fixed). Also, they claimed that there was water damage due to a leaky roof and we didn't report it (had no idea).

If it goes South I would leave some reviews on Yelp, etc...

Good luck - what state are you in btw?

[Boomer6]

Billy,

Thanks for the advice. I hadn't even given thought to bringing the BBB into it. I'm not prior enlisted or anything so I don't think base housing will be able to help me. In fact I think the nearest Air Force base is 3 hours away. Unless you're suggesting I call down to Maxwell and see what they can do for me?

Currently living in Alabama for work.

[BQZip01]

Just call Maxwell's housing office. They can usually help over the phone

[guineapigfury]

Billy,

Thanks for the advice. I hadn't even given thought to bringing the BBB into it. I'm not prior enlisted or anything so I don't think base housing will be able to help me. In fact I think the nearest Air Force base is 3 hours away. Unless you're suggesting I call down to Maxwell and see what they can do for me?

Currently living in Alabama for work.

Base housing assists officers as well.

[Boomer6]

Base housing assists officers as well.

Understood.

That was a less than intelligent way of saying what I was thinking. What I should have said is: I'm currently a civilian (who won't be on orders until 4/5, well after I will have moved out of the apartment) and I am not sure if base housing will be willing to help me when I haven't actually received orders yet.

[Fud]

It doesn't really matter what your lease says as far as a military clause; the previously mentioned federal law trumps your lease.

Either way, be respectful and careful when breaking the lease. Look up the Landlord/Tenant laws for your state. If you and your landlord signed a lease based on "good faith" and didn't take pictures before and after, you might get hit hard with damages. I am renting at my duty location for a couple of years and really like my landlord, however, I invited him over to look at the property, inspect for any damage, and give me feedback on what needs improvement.

Boomer6,

I just dealt with a similar issue a few months ago, and it was the first time I have had a negative experience with a landlord. Here's what I took away from it:

1) Take tons of pictures when you move in and when you move out.

2) Document everything wrong and all correspondence through e-mail so you have records. Avoid using the phone as that will turn into he said, she said...

3) If you still have issues the housing office on base can help you out a little - you can file a complaint against the landlord which can cost them future business.

4) The Better Business Bureau is your friend. www.bbb.org If you cannot get your issue resolved with the landlord, bring them in to intercede on your behalf.

5) Some states have laws that will allow you to get double (WA state) or even triple your deposit back if it's not returned to you in a timely matter (two weeks in WA if I remember) or if they are keeping it for BS reasons and you show this.

Huge 2! Whether you live in base housing or in an apartment or house off base, make sure you take pictures of everything, and not be happy with the discrepancy paperwork until it is at least two or three pages long. Don't stop at the inside of the house. Make sure all lawn discrepencies are repaired as well.

Furthermore, every state has landlord/tenant laws stating what the landlord and tenant are responsible for. The landlord is typically responsible for windows, doors, sewage (not treatment, but the actual pipes), and all structural issues. Look it up on your state's bar (not alcohol) association website.

Just call Maxwell's housing office. They can usually help over the phone

I called base housing and base legal at my location and neither of them were helpful at all. Typically, when you move to a new duty location and plan on renting, you'll have to bring a copy of the lease to them to look over. However, this review is by someone who is not a legal professsional. The legal office at my base was probaby too busy prosecuting sexual assault cases to give me the time of day.

Best advice: do the research yourself so you understand the process. You can avoid a lot of ass pain by simply talking ot your landlord or property management company. Don't threaten them at all with SCRA until they won't budge. The fines are very steep for people who violate your rights when you are a service member.

[Boomer6]

I just got off the phone with a lawyer and based on her interpretation of the law I will need to pay through the month of April and most likely a pro-rated amount for five days in May. Though this is the legal interpretation, she seemed to think if the leasing agent was a true red-blooded American then they would call it good the day I hand over my orders.

Since I have fulfilled only a portion of the notice requirement (have given notice but have not yet supplied orders) then the "30 days after notice has been given" portion of the clause will not go into effect until the day on which I hand in a physical copy of my orders. Which means the lease won't terminate until May 5th. As you guys already pointed out, she called BS on the leasing agent trying to stick me (sts) with early termination penalties.

Paying through April is definitely not ideal, but it beats the hell out of forking over $3k.

[Guest one]

I had a similar problem when I enlisted and was waiting for official orders. The apartment manager was making things real difficult and I had my recruiter give me some official looking paperwork that said I had to move out because of military obligations that was signed by an officer at the recruiting office. The apartment manager couldn't tell the difference between real orders and a note the recruiter handed me. I would just try something similar. If you are in an area that doesn't deal with military a lot, they probably never seen orders before.

According to my recruiter, this was a common problem because there is not a lot of military members where I lived. Most apartment managers didn't know military members could get out of their leases.

Edited February 22, 2013 by one

[Disregard]

one's advice looks good. You can also contact the nearest military legal office according to http://www.justice.g...itary/scra.php.

Send a written notice to your landlord ASAP via certified mail that you're moving out. airforceots.com should have some good info on this also.

[Chump]

Good timing on the thread revival,

Just PCS'd, we left our lease a month early and gave the landlord 30 days notice prior to leaving, they accepted that and there were no problems once they saw the orders. The problem is tho i had already paid rent for February and we left on the 12th. Am i entitled to receiving back pay since the 12th was 30 days from when we gave the notice? Searched all over the google machine and could not find anything.

[afthunderchief16]

Thread revival.

The wife and I are in a little bit of a predicament regarding te apartment that we put down a deposit on at Maxwell for SOS that was supposed to start next week. For various reasons, I got pulled from the class for one later in the year (5 weeks maybe?). Since we are so late in the game in getting pulled, the corporate housing company is apparently going to be charging us for a month's worth of rent for a place that we never stepped foot in to. The verbiage that we got from them:

"AHI Corporate Housing is under Fair Housing regulations which we must abide as rental agency. We must also abide by the Landlord / Tenant laws concerning military individuals and families which is mandated by the US Government. This law states that leases must have a military clause which can be ended at anytime with a thirty-day notice. Your agreement started March 22nd and now ends on April 20th which is 30-days. You will be responsible for the rent for this period. The cleaning fee and pet fee will not be your responsibility as you will not be taken possession."

Anyone ever have something similar to this? I called JAG but the soonest that they could get me in is 2 Apr. I am in the process of re-reading the lease to get all the finer details that I probably blindly signed away.