Do you have a military PCS move in or out of Florida? These are our best tips for understanding and using your Florida military clause on your lease.
Having a Florida military clause attached to your lease is best so it shows both parties understand the terms of the military clause. But don’t worry if you don’t have a military clause, your landlord should still accept the terms as the Florida military clause is outlined in Florida landlord tenant law statutes. Be sure what your landlord is trying to enforce coincides with what Florida law says. We’ll break it down for you here.
What does Florida landlord tenant law say about using your military clause to break your Florida lease?
Florida landlord tenant law outlines how and when you can use your military clause to break your lease. Here are the most common circumstances in which you can vacate a lease early without penalty due to military orders in or out of Florida:
- PCS orders to another base 35+ miles away from the leased premises
- Transfer to base housing
- Discharged or released from active duty and the rental premises is more than 35 miles from their home of record upon entering active duty
- TDY orders in excess of 60 days more than 35 miles from the leased premises
Read the full statute here under Chapter 83.682, Termination of a rental agreement by a servicemember.
The most confusing stipulation specific to the Pensacola area is the requirement to PCS to a base 35+ miles from the leased premises. This is because the Pensacola area is home to both Pensacola NAS in Southwest Pensacola and Whiting Field NAS in Milton. Unfortunately, many renters lease close to NAS Pensacola and then receive orders to Milton which may not always satisfy the 35+ mile requirement in the statute. Read more on this here: https://www.pensacolarealtymasters.com/pensacola-military-housing If you are house hunting in Pensacola for a PCS to Pensacola NAS, be sure you thoroughly research the radius requirement before you choose a rental property if you want the option to break your lease without penalty to relocate closer to Whiting Field in the future. Because of this, many service members in the flight training program who will fly helicopters choose a central location between NAS Pensacola and Whiting Field NAS.
The most common mistakes we see when military service members are using their military clause is not providing a full 30 days’ notice and not attaching proper documentation with the notice. Make sure you give adequate notice under the statute. Additionally, your notice needs to encompass the following:
- A written notice accompanied with a copy of your orders or a letter from your commanding officer.
- Provided at least 30 days in advance of your move. It does not have to be 30 days’ notice prior to the end of the month as Florida landlord tenant law dictates for others but it does have to be a full 30 days’ notice.
We know the military doesn’t always give exact detach dates and it can be frustrating that you may not have orders 30 days in advance, however, you can always get your CO to write a letter with an approximate date to satisfy this requirement.
As long as you meet the requirements under the military clause, the landlord cannot charge additional rent beyond the 30 days’ notice requirement and cannot charge any lease break penalties for using your military clause.
If you’re PCS’ing in or out of Pensacola, our Pensacola real estate agents can help you with your housing needs. Whether you are looking to rent or buy a Pensacola home or need to sell or lease your home, call, text or email us to see how we can help. We offer military discounts on application, management, and listing fees to help ease this transition.
Read more articles for your PCS Move to Pensacola
