50 U.S.C. §3955 — Termination of residential or motor vehicle leases

scra-50usc-3955

50 U.S.C. §3955 grants a servicemember the right to terminate covered residential, business, agricultural, or motor-vehicle leases on the triggers and in the manner specified.

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source:
  type: regulation
  id: scra-50usc-3955
  authority: 50 U.S.C. §3955 — Termination of residential or motor vehicle leases
  description: |
    50 U.S.C. §3955 grants a servicemember the right to terminate covered
    residential, business, agricultural, or motor-vehicle leases on the
    triggers and in the manner specified.
obligations:
  - id: scra-50usc-3955-a-servicemember-right-to-terminate
    canonical_id: scra-50usc-3955-a-servicemember-right-to-terminate
    section: 50 U.S.C. §3955(a)(1) — Servicemember right to terminate covered lease
    description: |
      A lessee on a §3955(b) covered lease (residential / professional /
      business / agricultural premises, or a motor vehicle) may, at the
      lessee's option, terminate the lease at any time after (A) the
      lessee's entry into military service; (B) the date of military orders
      described in §3955(b)(1)(B) or (b)(2)(B) (PCS or qualifying
      deployment); or (C) the date of a stop-movement order described in
      §3955(b)(1)(C) or (b)(2)(C). [LENDER] as lessor must honor a properly
      delivered termination notice.
    type: do
    audit_question: For every covered lease [LENDER] holds as lessor where the lessee is or becomes a servicemember, can [LENDER] evidence honoring of any §3955(a)(1) termination notice and military orders received from the lessee?
    program_review: Do the P&Ps ensure that, where [LENDER] is lessor on a §3955(b) covered lease and the lessee is/becomes a servicemember, a properly delivered §3955(a)(1) termination notice with military orders (post-entry, PCS/deployment orders, or stop-movement order) is honored?
    file_review: 'On covered leases, read the notes: confirm any termination notice and orders received were honored. The compliance person judges whether the orders qualified under §3955(a)(1).'
    judgment: true
    feeds: []
    workflow_phase: servicing
    owner_role: servicemember_relations_specialist
    secondary_owner_role: compliance_officer
    cadence: per-servicemember-event
    consequence: Civil action under SCRA §3956 [sic - §4042] and federal misdemeanor / private cause of action under SCRA enforcement provisions; reputational and DOJ-Servicemember-Enforcement exposure.
    tags:
      - round-b
      - regulator-direct
      - scra
      - lease-termination
      - lessor
      - promoted
    primary_source:
      tier: 1
      authority: 50 U.S.C. §3955(a)(1)
      source_class: scra-statute
      source_url: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/50/3955
      snapshot_id: 8a219e360eed123d
      fetched_at: '2026-05-22T18:52:49Z'
      content_hash: sha256:dfb0707ef10c60407c0e17b11b33193abdeaaee9d115af34cbfa8eb3795c2a65
      paragraph_quote: (1) Termination by lessee The lessee on a lease described in subsection (b) may, at the lessee’s option, terminate the lease at any time after—
      drafter_attestation: |
        Copied verbatim from snapshot 8a219e360eed123d (content.txt) at
        2026-05-22T19:25Z. Substring is the §3955(a)(1) termination
        headline; the (A)-(C) trigger events are paraphrased in description.
    promoted_at: '2026-05-22T19:08:48+00:00'
    promoted_from: scra-50usc-3955-roundb-v1.yaml
  - id: scra-50usc-3955-a2-joint-lease-termination
    canonical_id: scra-50usc-3955-a2-joint-lease-termination
    section: 50 U.S.C. §3955(a)(2) — Joint-lease termination dependent obligation
    description: |
      A servicemember-lessee's termination of a §3955(b) covered lease also
      terminates any obligation that a dependent of the lessee may have
      under the lease. [LENDER] as lessor may not pursue rent or other
      post-termination obligations against any dependent of the lessee
      whose lease was properly terminated under §3955(a).
    type: dont
    audit_question: For every §3955-terminated lease where a lessee dependent was co-obligor, can [LENDER] evidence that no rent or other post-termination obligation was assessed or collected against the dependent?
    program_review: Does the program account for the dependent-obligation rule — when a servicemember-lessee properly terminates under §3955(a), terminating any dependent co-obligor's obligation and pursuing no rent or post-termination obligation against the dependent?
    file_review: On terminated covered leases with a dependent co-obligor, confirm no post-termination obligation was assessed/collected against the dependent. Objective presence check against the ledger.
    judgment: false
    feeds: []
    workflow_phase: servicing
    owner_role: servicemember_relations_specialist
    secondary_owner_role: default_servicing_analyst
    cadence: per-servicemember-event
    consequence: Civil action under SCRA; restitution of post-termination amounts collected against dependents.
    tags:
      - round-b
      - regulator-direct
      - scra
      - lease-termination
      - dependent
      - promoted
    primary_source:
      tier: 1
      authority: 50 U.S.C. §3955(a)(2)
      source_class: scra-statute
      source_url: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/50/3955
      snapshot_id: 8a219e360eed123d
      fetched_at: '2026-05-22T18:52:49Z'
      content_hash: sha256:dfb0707ef10c60407c0e17b11b33193abdeaaee9d115af34cbfa8eb3795c2a65
      paragraph_quote: A lessee’s termination of a lease pursuant to this subsection shall terminate any obligation a dependent of the lessee may have under the lease.
      drafter_attestation: |
        Copied verbatim from snapshot 8a219e360eed123d (content.txt) at
        2026-05-22T19:25Z. Substring is the §3955(a)(2) joint-lease
        sentence in its entirety.
    promoted_at: '2026-05-22T19:08:48+00:00'
    promoted_from: scra-50usc-3955-roundb-v1.yaml
  - id: scra-50usc-3955-c1-manner-of-termination
    canonical_id: scra-50usc-3955-c1-manner-of-termination
    section: 50 U.S.C. §3955(c)(1) — Manner of termination
    description: |
      Termination of a §3955(b) covered lease is effected by (A) the lessee
      delivering written notice of termination, together with a copy of the
      servicemember's military orders, to the lessor (or the lessor's
      grantee or agent); and (B) in the case of a motor vehicle lease, by
      return of the motor vehicle to the lessor not later than 15 days
      after the delivery of the written notice. [LENDER] as lessor must
      accept any of the §3955(c)(2) delivery methods (hand delivery,
      private business carrier, USPS with return receipt, or §3955(c)(2)(D)
      electronic means).
    type: do
    audit_question: For every §3955 lease termination [LENDER] receives, can [LENDER] evidence (i) acceptance of any §3955(c)(2)-authorized delivery method for the written notice plus orders, and (ii) processing of the motor-vehicle return within the 15-day window when applicable?
    program_review: Does the program account for the §3955(c) manner-of-termination rules — accepting any §3955(c)(2)-authorized delivery method for the written notice + orders, and processing a motor-vehicle return within 15 days of the notice?
    file_review: On §3955 terminations, confirm the delivery method was accepted and any motor-vehicle return processed within the 15-day window. Objective presence/timing check.
    judgment: false
    feeds: []
    workflow_phase: servicing
    owner_role: servicemember_relations_specialist
    secondary_owner_role: default_servicing_analyst
    cadence: per-servicemember-event
    consequence: Civil action under SCRA for non-recognition of properly delivered termination; post-termination rent assessment claims.
    tags:
      - round-b
      - regulator-direct
      - scra
      - lease-termination
      - notice-delivery
      - promoted
    primary_source:
      tier: 1
      authority: 50 U.S.C. §3955(c)(1)
      source_class: scra-statute
      source_url: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/50/3955
      snapshot_id: 8a219e360eed123d
      fetched_at: '2026-05-22T18:52:49Z'
      content_hash: sha256:dfb0707ef10c60407c0e17b11b33193abdeaaee9d115af34cbfa8eb3795c2a65
      paragraph_quote: (c) Manner of termination
      drafter_attestation: |
        Copied verbatim from snapshot 8a219e360eed123d (content.txt) at
        2026-05-22T19:25Z. Substring is the §3955(c) headline; the (1)/(2)
        delivery elements are paraphrased in description.
    promoted_at: '2026-05-22T19:08:48+00:00'
    promoted_from: scra-50usc-3955-roundb-v1.yaml
_promotion_history:
  - promoted_at: '2026-05-22T19:08:48+00:00'
    candidate_path: obligations\_remediation\_round_b_drafts\scra-50usc-3955-roundb-v1.yaml
    candidates_promoted: 3
    candidates_skipped_existing: 0

Verbatim regulatory text (3)

Verbatim provisions from 50 U.S.C. §3955 — Termination of residential or motor vehicle leases — each quote is a verified substring of the regulator-published source snapshot, not retyped. Quoted for reference; this is not legal advice. The operational layer (P&P updates, prompts) lives in the regulation update kits.

50 U.S.C. §3955(a)(1) — Servicemember right to terminate covered lease

(1) Termination by lessee The lessee on a lease described in subsection (b) may, at the lessee’s option, terminate the lease at any time after—

Source: 50 U.S.C. §3955(a)(1) · source URL · snapshot 8a219e360eed123d

50 U.S.C. §3955(a)(2) — Joint-lease termination dependent obligation

A lessee’s termination of a lease pursuant to this subsection shall terminate any obligation a dependent of the lessee may have under the lease.

Source: 50 U.S.C. §3955(a)(2) · source URL · snapshot 8a219e360eed123d

50 U.S.C. §3955(c)(1) — Manner of termination

(c) Manner of termination

Source: 50 U.S.C. §3955(c)(1) · source URL · snapshot 8a219e360eed123d