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Know this before you sign anything
Your landlord cannot take this right away from you
Florida Statute 83.682 gives servicemembers a statutory right to terminate a residential rental agreement on military orders. The provision most worth knowing is at the end of it:
"The provisions of this section may not be waived or modified by the agreement of the parties under any circumstances."
That is unusually strong statutory language. It means a lease clause saying you have no military termination right, or imposing a penalty on top of what the statute allows, is void. You do not need the landlord to have included a military clause. The law is the clause.
This applies both to families arriving here and to those leaving. If you are signing a rental agreement in Fort Walton Beach next month, this is your protection.
When you can terminate
A servicemember may terminate on written notice of at least 30 days if any of the following apply:
- You are required by permanent change of station orders to move 35 miles or more from the rental premises
- You are discharged or released from active duty
- You are relocated after signing the lease while on active duty
- You receive orders to move into government quarters
- You receive temporary duty orders to a location 35 miles or more away, exceeding 60 days
- You receive changed orders before taking possession of the premises
Note the 35-mile threshold appears twice and note the last one — orders that change before you ever move in are covered.
Lease termination questions
What renters on orders ask about getting out of a lease in Florida.
01
Yes. Florida Statute 83.682 allows a servicemember to terminate a residential rental agreement on at least 30 days' written notice in several situations, including PCS orders requiring a move of 35 miles or more, discharge or release from active duty, orders to government quarters, and qualifying temporary duty orders. Notice must be accompanied by a copy of the orders or a written verification from your commanding officer.
02
No. Florida Statute 83.682(5) states that the section may not be waived or modified by agreement of the parties under any circumstances. A lease term purporting to remove or limit the right is void. You do not need the landlord to have agreed to it.
03
At least 30 days, in writing, accompanied by either a copy of your official orders or a written verification signed by your commanding officer.
04
Rent prorated to the effective date of termination, and no additional damages. If you terminate 14 or more days before you were due to take occupancy, there is no penalty at all.
05
Does this apply to temporary duty orders?
Yes, in defined circumstances: temporary duty orders to a location 35 miles or more from the rental premises, for a period exceeding 60 days, qualify under the statute.
What you have to provide, and what you owe
Your written notice must be accompanied by either a copy of the official orders or a written verification signed by your commanding officer. One or the other — you do not need both, and a landlord asking for more than the statute requires is asking for more than they are entitled to.
If a servicemember dies while on active duty, an adult member of the immediate family may terminate the rental agreement on similar notice, accompanied by a death certificate.
On what you owe: liability is limited to rent prorated to the effective date of termination, and no additional damages may be charged. If you terminate 14 or more days before occupancy, there is no penalty at all.
This is worth reading twice, because the most common way servicemembers lose money here is by accepting a landlord's demand for two months' rent, or forfeiting a deposit they were entitled to keep, without knowing the statute caps their liability.
How to do it properly
- Put it in writing. A conversation is not notice.
- Give at least 30 days, counted from when the landlord receives it.
- Attach a copy of the orders or a signed commanding officer verification.
- Keep a dated copy of everything you send, and send it by a method that proves delivery.
- State the effective termination date explicitly rather than leaving it to be inferred.
If a landlord pushes back, the non-waiver provision in subsection (5) is the sentence to point at. If they persist, base legal assistance handles this routinely and it costs you nothing.
The federal law that also applies
Separately from Florida law, the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act contains its own lease termination provisions, and in practice it is often the SCRA that a member invokes. The two operate in parallel; you are not choosing one at the expense of the other. Base legal can tell you which route fits your situation, and the Department of Justice maintains a servicemembers resource page.
If you are the one buying instead
The reason this page sits inside a realtor's guide is simple: a lot of families rent for a year here, then buy. Knowing that you can exit a rental agreement cleanly on orders takes some of the risk out of renting first — which is often the right call for a family that does not yet know the area. When you are ready to look at buying, the VA loan page is the place to start.
Sources and further reading
- Florida Statute 83.682 — termination of rental agreement by a servicemember
- US Department of Justice — Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative
- Military OneSource — legal assistance
Last updated: September 2026. Florida Statute 83.682 was last amended in 2023 and is current in the 2025 Florida Statutes. This page is general information, not legal advice — base legal assistance handles lease terminations routinely and at no cost to you.
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