Q: I rent a room right now and I signed a 6 month rental agreement. I have been asked to move out earlier than 6 months
I have been living there for just over two months. I am active duty military and I just got back from a deployment. I was recently informed that they want me to move out so they can turn my room into an office space because they are no longer occupying the office space they are renting in another city due to COVID-19. They are not honoring my rental agreement. I live in California.
A:
Very sorry to hear that an active duty US military is being treated this way. Of course you have the absolute right to enforce your rental agreement and tell them you are not moving out until it is up. IMO you don't need to subject yourself to this stress. What I would do is negotiate with them for a return of at least half the rent (ask for 100% rent rebate and negotiate down to 50%, or you won't get it). Point out to them that they may be obligated to provide you with a month of relocation expenses if you lived there a year, anyway. If they get hard nosed with you, you can play hard ball right back. Tell them that they better "lawyer up" which they will quickly find that it probably will cost them more than the problem is worth. Also tell them that you believe they are discriminating against you in violation of your rights as an active duty member of the military under the United States Code, and you are going to get your own attorney to sue them for (Name the most outrageous figure you can think of). If all else fails, get yourself a Tenant's rights attorney to assist you. Contact the base legal office re: discrimination against you because of your active duty status, they may have a referral. Best of luck. Civilians can be a pain.
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