Breaking the lease when Uncle Sam comes calling

Question: My husband’s National Guard unit has been called into service. We are leasing and since I can’t afford the rent on my own, I’m moving back to my parent’s home. Can the landlord evict me for not paying the rent, or can I break the lease?

Answer: If your lease was entered into prior to your husband going onto active duty, Title 32 of the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act, formerly known as the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act of 1940, addresses this question. It allows a tenant whose National Guard unit is called up for more than 30 days during the period of a lease to terminate the tenancy. To do this, a tenant must serve the landlord with a written 30-day notice of intention to move, along with a copy of the military orders. Service of this notice can either be by hand, commercial carrier or by certified mail, return receipt requested.

The tenant is responsible for at least one month’s rent following the service of the notice to move. For example, if the 30-day notice is served on May 20, the tenant must pay full rent for June, but the obligation for rent ceases beginning July 1.

This entitlement is valid only for service personnel and their legal dependents. Any rent paid in advance for the period that follows the termination of the tenancy shall be refunded within 30 days after the end of the tenancy.

A landlord cannot hold the personal effects, security deposit or other property of a service member (or his or her dependents) who lawfully terminates a lease covered by the act.

The relief act also protects service members from a court eviction if the rental property was used for housing purposes and the owed rent does not exceed $2,400.

A service member or dependent who has received a notice of an eviction must submit a request to the court for protection under the act.

If the court finds that the service member’s military duties have materially affected ability to pay the rent on a timely basis, the judge may order a stay or postponement of the eviction proceeding for up to three months.

Give ex-tenant’s mail to carrier

Question: What is a landlord’s responsibility for mail addressed to former tenants? After a tenant moves out, I forward letters when there is a forwarding address, but what should I do with letters after the time limit for a forwarding address expires? Also, is it OK to throw away advertising and other “junk� mail?

Answer: The Postal Service automatically forwards mail for one year, if it has a forwarding address on file. For six months after that first year, the Postal Service will return mail to the sender, unless the mail has different instructions on its face.

According to the Postal Service, landlords should not try to forward mail and should not destroy “junk� mail. Return all such mail to the postal carrier, who will then take the proper action to forward or destroy the letters.

This column is prepared by Project Sentinel, a rental housing mediation service in Sunnyvale, Calif. Questions may be sent to 1055 Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road, Suite 3, Sunnyvale, CA 94087, but cannot be answered individually. For housing discrimination questions, complaints or help, call the state Department of Fair Housing and Employment at (800) 233-3212 or the Southern California Housing Rights Center at (800) 477-5977.