Talk to your base support people (I have not done this, but as a landlord, I have to keep the language in my leases) and have them guide you to the appropriate authority. They will probably send a letter to the landlord confirming the orders and reminding them that in order to comply with the law, they MUST release you from your lease immediately and return your deposit money. I know the military is set up to handle this, the only issue is finding the correct person who knows what law to cite in the letter.
Then if they refuse the refund, take the landlord to small claims court. Should be a slam dunk.
Posted by Teresa Wisdom on June 21, 2007 at 14:55:26:
My husband just signed a lease for a house because we are selling ours, he is in the military and in 2 months he will be going to Iraq, when he signed this lease it was suppose to be for his family, I have asked him to get the key so that I could see this house (this house is so small, the garage is not big enough to put a car in, they have no linen closet, it looks as if the cabinets were taken off the wall, 2 rooms need to be put together in order for you to have one because the only thing that will fit into the room is a bed, the only closets they have are clothes closet and they are small) well my husband signed this lease for $995.00. they also free access to the house. I NEED TO KNOW HOW TO GET OUT OF THE LEASE, I REFUSE TO STAY THERE
Does you husband have orders for Iraq? If he does, the Federal government allows you to terminate any lease upon receipt of orders without penalty (except for damages if you had moved in).
Posted by Natalie-VA on June 28, 2007 at 08:20:45:
Hi Rich,
I can’t speak to the poster’s situation since I don’t know the laws there, but to my knowledge, The Soldiers and Sailors Civil Reief Act does not allow you to terminate a lease without penalty. They have to give at least 30 days notice and pay damages based on how long into the lease term they are.
Posted by Teresa Wisdom on June 24, 2007 at 14:19:19:
Yes he has orders for Iraq, we had not even moved into the house and they said he couldn’t get his $1028.00 back, it was less than 24 hours when he called them back to say he changed his mind. He is now out of the contract/lease and they kept the money.
Thanks for the response
Posted by Teresa Wisdom on June 24, 2007 at 14:15:51:
Yes he has orders for Iraq, we had not even moved into the house and they said he couldn’t get his $1028.00 back, it was less than 24 hours when he called them back to say he changed his mind. He is now out of the contract/lease and they kept the money.
Thanks for the response
I’ll ask my PM for the specific citation. It may be a requirement to allow advertising on base and military sites and boards. I’ll verify this. This is why I suggested to the poster they check with the base support people. They would be the most up to date. Even PMs who have a lot of military in their properties can get behind in law/regulations changes.