Tenant maybe fraudulently SCRA clause to terminate lease early...please help.

[JasonLastname]

Colorado-
I have a tenant who gave notice to terminate their lease early invoking the SCRA act due to the fact he was being deployed. He claimed his wife and child would be moving back to Alaska to live with family while he would be away.

We obliged his request and wanted to make this as easy as possible as we appreciate his service to our country.

Today, however, we received a call from a property management company seeking references for the NEW property he is looking to rent in a neighboring suburb.

Both he and his wife are on the current lease, and the management company was asking for references offering his name only. The leasing company also gave us the address of the new property.

We did a quick search and found ads for the new property, which is asking more $$ than what they are currently paying for rent. The new property is larger, but in a less desirable (rent-wise) part of town. The new rental is closer to his base where he works.

It seems clear he is either using his deployment as a loophole to switch properties OR he is acting fraudulently altogether saying he is being deployed.

He had initially offered to provide his deployment orders, but has not yet done so.

I’m not opposed to letting them out early, but renting a home in March is generally not as easy as it the warmer months. What are our options?

 

[Zigner]

The service member must provide a written termination notice and a copy of his/her orders. Until that occurs, you are not obliged to terminate the lease early. However, if you already agreed to the termination, then you are in a much worse place...

EDIT: Giving you a copy of his orders is mandatory in order to invoke the provisions of the SCRA, not something that he can simply "offer" to you.

 

[JasonLastname]

He said he would provide and I believe he still plans to do so. However, he is signing a new lease within 15 miles of this property.

That doesn’t seem right.

I believe he simply wants to be closer to his base where he works.

How is that in the spirit of the SCRA? He’s basically using it as a get-out-of-jail free card.

Also..FYI: we have had no issues with them nor have they had any complaints or problems. It’s been a very uneventful 6 mos with them as tenants.

 

[Zigner]

Let me restate this: Concurrent (at the same time) as the written notice of termination, he MUST provide a copy of his orders. Otherwise, SCRA provisions are not invoked.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode50a/usc_sec_50a_00000535----000-.html


Edit: Even though "he" is renting the new unit, it's quite possible that he is deploying and just finding his spouse a different place to live...