Not legal advice. This is a plain-language summary of federal law. Your installation's legal assistance office can review your lease for free.
The short version
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) lets you end a residential lease early, without a penalty, in two main situations:
- You signed the lease before you entered active-duty military service.
- You signed it while on active duty and then receive permanent change of station (PCS) orders, or deployment orders for 90 days or more.
How to use it
- Give written notice to your landlord, with a copy of your orders (or a letter from your commanding officer). Hand delivery, a delivery service, or certified mail all work; keep proof.
- Know when it ends. For month-to-month rent, termination takes effect 30 days after the next rent due date following your notice. If you give notice on March 10 and rent is due on the 1st, the next rent date is April 1, so the lease ends 30 days later, around May 1.
- Get prepaid rent back. Rent paid in advance for time after the lease ends must be refunded, generally within 30 days. The landlord can't charge an early-termination fee, though you still owe rent up to the end date and any damage beyond normal wear.
A spouse or dependents on the lease are covered too when the servicemember terminates under the SCRA.
What a "military clause" adds
Many leases include a military clause that restates or expands these rights, for example by covering orders to base housing or shortening the notice period. It's a good sign a landlord is used to military renters. On our listings, the Military clause (SCRA lease break) chip means the landlord told us their lease includes one.
State law can add more
Many states have their own protections on top of the SCRA. In Virginia, for example, see Va. Code § 55.1-1235.
Read the law
- 50 U.S.C. § 3955, termination of residential leases
- U.S. Department of Justice: servicemembers' rights
- Military OneSource (free legal and financial consultations)