Belonging to the military means moving around fairly often, which in turn means having to be knowledgeable about the ins and outs of realty. Depending on the assignment or the current state of the housing market, service-members and their families often opt to rent rather than buy, which can raise additional issues when faced with sudden orders or deployments.

There are three federal laws that govern a military service member's status as a protected class: the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, or SCRA; the Civil Rights Act; and the Fair Housing Act. On a local level, the Washington Law Against Discrimination prohibits discriminating against veterans or anyone with military status in regard to housing, public accommodation, and credit and lending.

Specifically, it is the SCRA that allows for early termination of a lease. A service member who receives either a permanent change of station orders or is deployed to a new location for 90 days or more has the right to terminate a housing lease regardless of the length left on said lease. Furthermore, a landlord cannot request that a servicemember with orders move out earlier than the lease termination date.

To properly terminate the lease, the service member must give written notice to the landlord at any time after receiving orders; oral notice is not sufficient under SMRA. The effective date of termination is determined as follows:

• For month-to-month rentals, the termination becomes effective 30 days after the first date on which the next rental payment is due subsequent to the date when the notice of termination is delivered. For example, if the rent is due on the first day of each month and notice is mailed on Aug. 1, then the next rental payment is due and payable on Sept. 1. Thirty days after that date would be Oct. 1, the effective date of termination.

• For all other leases, termination becomes effective on the last day of the month following the month in which proper notice is delivered. For example, if the lease requires a yearly rental and proper notice of termination is given on July 20, the effective date of termination would be Aug. 31.

The service member is required to pay rent for only those months before the lease is terminated. If rent has been paid in advance, the landlord must prorate and refund the rest. Also, if a security deposit was required, it must be returned to the servicemember upon termination of the lease.

Alex H.S. Thomason, with the firm Stanislaw Ashbaugh, LLP in Seattle, has seen what can happen to a soldier just trying to do his job.

"This soldier was told that he could not rent a place unless he got a letter from his command saying that he was not going to be deployed," Thomason said. "That is not only next to impossible, but a total violation of the soldier's rights."

Thomason, a commercial litigator who specifically deals with breach of contract issues, went on to explain that once he spoke with the landlord and explained the laws they were able to resolve the matter out of court. Although Thomason has no personal ties to the military, his roommate in law school is a captain in the Washington National Guard, so he takes a vested interest in the rights of those in uniform.

He recommends that any servicemembers who feel like they are being discriminated against by their landlords, real estate agents or lenders contact the Washington State Human Rights Commission (www.hum.wa.gov), who will then investigate the claim. Servicemembers also can also visit their nearest military legal assistance office on Joint-Base Lewis McChord or Camp Murray.

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