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jenndemonbrun · Jul 9, 2007, 01:05 PM

My husband and I rent a home to a family who's husband is in the army. We rented this house knowing that he would be shipping off to Iraq within two weeks of moving in. He was very happy to find a home so quickly and even happier we offered a year long lease, with no rent increase if they decided to rent longer than a year.
He has been gone now for over two months, and the wife was in a car accident and no longer wishes to live so far from the nearest military base. She has given us a 30 day written notice of her discission to move and states that we have no "emergency" clause in our lease agreement, which we don't. Now, she is not in the hospital or disabled, to me this is no emergency. There is also no chance of her and the children to be relocated to Iraq with her husband on duty there, I was just wondering if we could legally bind her to the lease agreement and who and how I would go about seeking the military legal?
We don't want to be greedy, but we are so concerned if we can not get a renter lined up within the next 30 days. All we are asking is that she pay until the home is rented to another person.
Any legal advice would be great! My husband and I are very simple landlords, taking care of the properties and issues ourselves, with no management help.
Thank You!

nauticalstar420 · Jul 9, 2007, 01:12 PM

The only way she can break her lease and not have to pay any penalties is if her husband is getting orders to a new location that is 50 miles away or more. If this was the case, the military clause would come into effect. (I know this because I am a military spouse myself). Since this is not the case, I would assume she would have to pay any penalties for breaking the lease. Just because he is deployed does not mean his orders have changed, he is still attatched to a base here in the states.

Here is a military legal website that I hope can help you : https://www.jagcnet.army.mil/Legal

Good luck! :)

Emland · Jul 9, 2007, 01:31 PM

Another Navy wife here, Nauticalstar420 has is right. Unless he is being transferred to another base 50 miles or more awa they can't legally break the lease. You are within your rights to sue her for the lease until it rerents. Whether you collect is another thing. My hubby and I hold a judgement for 6k on a military couple that nearly destroyed our property and skipped on the rent. They moved to Texas which I have learned from this site is a haven for deadbeats - very difficult to collect from.

Fr_Chuck · Jul 9, 2007, 02:07 PM

You have the legal right to force her to pay the lease, at least till you find a new renter.

I will talk as a supportor of the troops and as a preacher.

He is in Iraq fightig for our nation, she was in a accident, for heavens sake let them out of the lease.

rdrakester · Jul 9, 2008, 09:58 AM

This is really to Emland - RE: deadbeat military couple who didn't pay & can't track in Texas. Contact the military branch they are part of and give them any info. You can (i.e. legal names, SSN's, dates of birth, etc.). If they are still military, they will track them for you and require they pay their debt (possibly with garnish from military pay - I was told the military does not stand for servicemen to have outstanding debt obligations ignored). I have managed properties for over 20 yrs. And did just that in same situation with a couple - the commanding officer contacted me for further info and I received three payments to pay balance off, all within 90 days (balance was over $3,000.00). All in all, from date of contacting the military to final payment took less than 120 days. Worth a try! Good luck!

Emland · Jul 9, 2008, 11:15 AM

Originally Posted by rdrakester

This is really to Emland - RE: deadbeat military couple who didn't pay & can't track in Texas. Contact the military branch they are part of and give them any info. you can (i.e. legal names, SSN's, dates of birth, etc.). If they are still military, they will track them for you and require they pay their debt (possibly with garnish from military pay - I was told the military does not stand for servicemen to have outstanding debt obligations ignored). I have managed properties for over 20 yrs. and did just that in same situation with a couple - the commanding officer contacted me for further info and I received three payments to pay balance off, all within 90 days (balance was over $3,000.00). All in all, from date of contacting the military to final payment took less than 120 days. Worth a try! Good luck!!

I wish he had stayed in the military. That might have worked. However, he was dishonorably discharged and fell off the map. Last we heard he was in TX.