Do I still have to pay my mortgage while the Army send me to war?
Full Question:
If the U.S Army deploys a resident to Iraq for 1 year, will he be expected to pay his lease, or can he be released from the obligation of the lease, without being sued when he returns home from war.
06/19/2007 |
Category: Real Property |
State: California |
#6534
Answer:
The applicable California statutes are as follows:
§ 409 Mil. & Vet.
(a) This section shall apply to any lease covering premises occupied
for dwelling, professional, business, agricultural, or similar purposes
in any case in which the lease was executed by or on the behalf of a
person who, after the execution of such lease, entered military service,
as defined by Section 400.
(b) Any lease, as provided in
subdivision (a), may be terminated by notice in writing delivered to the
lessor or to the lessor's agent by the lessee at any time following the
date of the beginning of the period of military service. Delivery of this
notice may be accomplished by placing it in an envelope properly stamped
and duly addressed to the lessor or to the lessor's agent and depositing
the notice in the United States mail. Termination of any lease providing
for monthly payment of rent shall be effective on the last day of the
month following notice and in any case, no more than 45 days after notice
is provided to the lessor and payable subsequent to the date when the
notice is delivered or mailed. In the case of all other leases,
termination shall be effected on the last day of the month following the
month in which the notice is delivered or mailed and, in that case, any
unpaid rent for a period preceding termination shall be prorated and any
rent paid in advance for a period succeeding termination shall be
refunded by the lessor. Upon application by the lessor to the appropriate
court prior to the termination period provided for in the notice, any
relief granted in this paragraph shall be subject to any modification or
restriction as in the opinion of the court justice and equity may, in the
circumstances, require.
(c) Any person who shall knowingly seize, hold, or detain the personal
effects, clothing, furniture, or other property of any person who has
lawfully terminated a lease covered by this section, or in any manner
interfered with the removal of that property from the premises covered by
that lease, for the purpose of subjecting or attempting to subject any of
the property to a claim for rent accruing subsequent to the date of
termination of the lease, or attempts to do so, is guilty of a
misdemeanor, and shall be punishable by imprisonment not to exceed one
year or by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both.