Members of the Military and Residential Leases

If you are a tenant who is also serving our country as part of the military or national guard, you may find yourself in a situation where you are called to duty unexpectedly. The good news is, under the military orders clause of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”), if you are called to active duty for more than 180 days, you can terminate your residential lease. No sense in paying if you’re not staying, right?

In order to terminate the lease, you will need to notify your landlord that you have been called to active duty. You must actually provide your landlord with a copy of your military orders. No matter what time of the month you give your notice, and regardless of when you move out, you are still responsible to pay the rent for the rest of the month you gave your notice in, as well as the following month.

The SCRA protects you further – if you are on active duty, your landlord can’t evict you without a court order unless your rent is greater than $3,451.20 per month.