Great information, Nate. Thank you!

Here is another little tidbit of information to give you that little edge and some of the other properties may be doing this. RENTAL PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM

The Rental Partnership Program helps military members get adequate rental housing at a reduced rate, but it does not mean rental housing is set aside exclusively for them. Representatives from an installation's housing office and local landlords enter into agreements to offer service members special rental benefits above what other tenants receive. This is voluntary for both landlords and tenants.

Typical benefits may include a waiver of security and utility deposits, no credit checks or application fees, a discount on market rental rates and immediate access to housing.

The agreements stipulate that neither the installation housing office nor the military is obligated to pay delinquent rent, cover damage costs or other obligations incurred by military tenants

No problem Rachel. I might also add that since you are close to the military installation to talk to the local JAG office on post which is the legal and they can assist you with questions as well. Here is a link which may assist you as well: www.rentlaw.com/military/clause.htm

Hi Nate, Thank you. There is no military cause in our standard contract. However, if deployed or transferred over 50 miles, we have always honored by only requiring a 30 day notice. I do have one military resident who requested that we add the military clause, which we did.

Thank you for your input! It's good to know for future reference.

I'm hoping for a peaceful resolutions where both parties benefit.

First the lease on the economy by a service member and their family is a private contract. Issues that come up that are on the legal realm, they are treated for the most part the same as a non military member except in cases of orders that causes them to move before their rental contract periods, or they have a deployments as a few examples.
For misconduct they are handled the same as the civilian counterpart. Because if they are taken to court it is not done through the military system it is done through the civilian system.
Now the Housing office staff should negotiate if the service member ask them to and they think it would help. But they need to keep in mind they do not have the authority to come in and bully. The elements are:
1. Did the service member violate the contract in some way? If the answer is yes it is a private contract and a civilian legal matter.
2. Are the quarters suitable for renting? Yes, then Housing office has no grounds
3. Is there fair housing laws violations? No, then the housing office have no grounds
4. Is there a military clause in the contract and is it being honored? If the answer is yes then Housing office has no grounds
What you want to make sure of is to ensure you stay on their list of places to look at. If they take you off of the list then there has to be a legal reason for doing so.
So, the bottom-line is treating it the same way as you would your civilian cases as this is a private contract. If you are on the housing referral list, then they will want the military clause to be in the contract.

Today, I called the base and spoke with the first Sergeant. They acted quickly and came out to the property. They visited with the resident and examined the apartment. We came together on a settlement, that was agreeable to both of us. It came to light that they were aware of some of the emotional issues going on between this couple but, were not aware of recent events.

The Sergeant explained to me that while the Housing staff can negotiate on behalf of the soldier and family, he was not entitled to sensitive information such as incidents or emotional disturbances.

He also assured me that while he wasn't able to control the spouse (wife), he was able to greatly influence the soldier.

Before I contacted the First Sergeant, the housing staff was over stepping by trying to black ball us, but now, with the involvement of the command, we are in good standing, we will recoup some of the damages and hopefully will be able to rent this unit within 30 days after move out.

Thank you all for your guidance on this issue. It's been an education, I will say that!