SERVICEMEMBERS CIVIL RELIEF ACT
INTRODUCTION
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) was signed into law in December 2003.
The SCRA amends the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act (SSCRA), which was passed by
Congress to provide protection to persons entering or called to active duty in the
U.S. Armed
Forces. The new law contains many
of
the same protections under the SSCRA, and strengthens
many protections
as
well. Reservists and members
of
the National Guard (when in active federal
service) are protected under the
SCRA. Additionally, some
of
the SCRA's protections extend to
the soldier's family members. The protection begins on the date the soldier entered active duty
service and terminates upon release from active duty. However, some protections under the act
extend for a limited time beyond discharge but are tied to the discharge date.
A. Termination
of
Lease Agreements
1.
A service member who is leasing or renting property used for dwelling,
professional, business, agricultural or similar purposes may terminate a lease that was (1) signed
before the service member entered active duty, or (2) signed while on active duty and the soldier
receives orders for a permanent change
of
station (PCS) or a deployment
of
at least 90 days.
2.
The service member must deliver written notice
of
termination to the landlord
after entry on active duty or receipt
of
orders for active duty. The termination date for a month-
to-month lease is
30 days after the first date on which the next rental payment is due after the
termination notice is delivered. For example,
if
rent is due on the 1 st
of
the month and notice is
delivered to the landlord on August 5th, the next rent due is September 1 st. Therefore, the
Servicemenber must pay the
rent
through September 30.
3.
For all other lease and rental agreements, the termination date will be the last
day
of
the month after the month in which the notice was given. For example,
if
the term
of
the
lease or rental agreement is yearly and notice was given August 5th, then the termination date
will be September 30th.
4.
If
the rent has been paid in advance, then the landlord must return any
unearned portion within
30 days
of
the termination date
of
the lease. The landlord may not
withhold the refund
of
a service member's security deposit for early termination
of
the lease or
rental agreement. However, the landlord may withhold return
of
the security deposit for
damages, repairs, and other lawful provisions
of
the lease/rental agreement.
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