Federal law gives servicemembers a clean, penalty-free exit from residential leases. Here's exactly how it works.
Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. § 3955), you can terminate a residential lease if:
Deliver written notice plus a copy of your orders (or a letter from your commanding officer). The lease terminates 30 days after the next rent payment is due following proper notice. Example: you give notice on the 10th, rent is due on the 1st — the lease ends 30 days after the next 1st.
You owe rent through the termination date — typically about one month. No early-termination fee, no remaining-rent liability. A landlord who penalizes you anyway is violating federal law.
Several states extend SCRA-style rights to state active duty, National Guard deployments, or military spouses — California and Texas among them. Check your state page for the local version.
SCRA protections extend to servicemember dependents in many situations, and some states say so explicitly. If you're the spouse on the lease, read both the federal rule and your state page.
Related: domestic-violence exits · check your state free
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