How To Rent Your House To Military Personnel: A Comprehensive Guide

Active duty service members and their families often move because they are assigned to various bases for operations, missions, and specialized training. On average, military families move every two years. Thus, the demand for military tenants is always high. If you’re considering renting to military tenants, read more to understand what you’re getting into.

Pros And Cons Of Renting To Military Tenants

Having military renters in your property can have its benefits and setbacks. On the one hand, military members have a reliable income. Many military families receive Basic Allowance for Housing to augment their living expenses. Military families are usually well-connected. That means you can expect a military tenant to recommend your rental property to another service member in the future. If you participate in the Rental Partnership Program (RPP), you can get easy access to military tenants who are keen on leasing a property in your area.

However, renting to military tenants can have setbacks. If you rent your property to military tenants, you should expect them to vacate it with very little notice. Because of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, military families can leave a rental property early and break their lease agreement without consequence. While the Rental Partnership Program can help fund the military tenants’ rent, it is still possible for military families to fall behind on paying rent. You won’t always be sure if they will pay the rent on time. You also have to follow the legal consequences if they’re under law protection.

How To Rent Your House To Military Personnel & Their Families

How can you attract military tenants to your place as a property owner? Here are helpful tips you can try to attract active-duty military members:

Prepare Your House For Military Renters

If you want active-duty tenants to rent your property, you should ensure that your property complies with military housing standards and regulations. You should have a clean record with the Housing Service Center and meet their standards upon inspection.

Considering that military families move a lot, offering a furnished rental might be a good idea. Military and government workers move frequently and don’t want to purchase furniture with every move.

Many military families also have small children. It would be great if you made your place kid-friendly. You can install a kid-friendly closet or a swing or pool in the backyard. Any effort to make the place appealing to active duty members and their kids would be appreciated.

Set Competitive Rental Rates

Consider the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) military tenants receive when setting rental rates. It would be best to survey the local military community to understand their expected standard rates.

When setting your rental rate, you should consider various factors, like location, size, and amenities. Being located near schools may be attractive to a military family with children, even with civilian renters. Moreover, you should check the standard lease rate in your state. This helps you set the bar for what is deemed competitive and fair in your area.

Another great idea is to offer a military discount. You can provide a rebate in various ways, like taking a percentage of their monthly rent or waiving a few days upon moving.

Market Your Property To Military Tenants

How can active duty service members learn about your property if you don’t advertise it? You should consider listing your property in various channels to attract military tenants. Contact your local military housing office so many military members will be aware of your listing. You can also try online platforms like Zillow or get help from a local realtor.

The key to attracting military tenants to your property is creating a compelling listing. You should highlight all the factors that make your property appealing to military members. Examples include your proximity to the nearest military bases, flexible lease terms, and a special military discount for prospective tenants.

Understand Basic Allowance For Housing (BAH)

When listing a property, you should consider the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH). This is a stipend that service members receive to help cover their rental costs. This allowance differs based on a military tenant’s rank, pay grade, location, and number of dependents. You should learn about the local BAH to make your listing appealing to potential renters.

Create A Flexible Military Lease Agreement

If you’re renting to military tenants, you should understand the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act’s implications and create a contract allowing them to exercise their rights accordingly. You should consider adding a military clause and an early termination option to make everything clear to all parties. At the end of the day, what’s important is that you ensure that your contract abides by federal, local, and state laws.

Screen Military Tenants

Considering the implications of renting to military tenants, it’s only wise that you confirm the military status of potential tenants. You should conduct a thorough background check. You may also want to request documents that prove that your possible new tenants can afford to pay for your property lease. Your potential tenants should provide proof that they’re part of the military so you can make the necessary contract adjustments.

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act grants service members certain privileges if they’re on active duty. Hence, you should determine if your tenant is on active duty. We at Military Verification can help you verify a person’s military service. Many landlords use our service to confirm the military status of possible lenders. If you want to be sure that your future tenant is part of the military, we can help you out through our reliable resources.

Handling Deployment And Move-out Procedures

What if your military tenant fails to make payments on time for months? Can you evict them? First, you should determine if the military personnel you are renting to are on active duty. If they’re on active duty, they are granted SCRA protections.

If you rent to military tenants, you should be ready for sudden deployment-related moves. Thus, you should have protocols in place to safeguard your interest. It would be wise to have everything you need to be prepared for move-out inspections. Moreover, it would help to have the security deposit ready to be returned to the military tenant when they leave.

Before you seek legal action because of eviction issues, you should consider settling matters amicably. Evicting an active-duty military member may have expensive implications. Thus, you should be vigilant and ensure that you’re following the law.

Conclusion

Renting to military tenants can help you reap many benefits if you meet the military standards and requirements. However, before you sign the dotted line, you should understand the implications of renting your property to service members.

The law grants protections and benefits to service members that you should respect. Learning the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act is vital to avoid any legal issues in the future. Once you do, you’ll see that offering your property to military families can be beneficial in the long run. If you market your property listing right, you might be able to appeal to a military family needing a nice home.

To learn more about military living, explore our website further. We can help you understand the implications of conducting rental business with military members and more.

FAQs

Can a landlord refuse to rent to military tenants?

Military members do not have federal protections. This means you can refuse renting to military tenants if you’re not confident they will stay long because of deployment orders.

Can I rent only to the military?

Fair Housing Laws restrict property owners from listing their places to military tenants only. However, you can post your listing on advertising platforms visible to service members to make your listing more accessible.