Many states have clauses for residential leases that allow members of the U.S. military to terminate a lease prematurely, especially states with military bases of operations. Louisiana is one such state.
Landlords in Louisiana must allow early termination of a lease agreement if the tenant or the tenant’s spouse is an active or reserve member of the armed forces of the United States, including the National Guard and the United States Coast Guard, and meets certain conditions. La. R.S. § 9:3261 outlines the conditions that allow for early termination, and they include:
- The member has received initial or permanent change of station orders that is at least 35 miles from the dwelling.
- The member is discharged, released, or retires.
- The member receives orders to reside in government-supplied quarters.
- The member is notified of the availability of government-supplied quarters, which were unavailable at the time the lease was signed, but are now available, provided that the member notified the landlord in writing at the time of lease signing that they had applied for such government-supplied living quarters.
- The member is injured due to their service in the military, and that injury requires hospitalization for more than 15 days.
- The member has been killed incidental to their service.