Renting out your house when you get PCS orders: a landlord checklist
Start with the loan and the insurance, then find a tenant with a written lease and a manager plan for the years you will be away. Your own deployment can also shape the lease: a servicemember tenant has a federal right to end a lease early on PCS orders, so you may meet it from the tenant side. Keep rent and expenses in their own account, and plan for the months when the house is empty.
First two calls: the lender and the insurer
Call your loan servicer and ask in writing what its rules are for renting the home after you move, because the occupancy clause in a main-home mortgage has terms for owners who are away on orders. Fannie Mae's guide, for example, treats an active-duty servicemember who is temporarily away due to orders as still occupying a principal residence, though the lender must verify it with the orders (see Fannie Mae occupancy types, read October 2026). Your own loan decides, so ask. Our post on renting out a house with a mortgage lists the questions.
Then call your insurer and get a landlord policy started before a tenant arrives.
A planning timeline
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| As soon as you have orders | Call servicer and insurer; get a rent estimate and a repair list |
| 6 to 8 weeks out | Fix known problems, photograph every room, list the house |
| 4 weeks out | Screen applicants the same way each time; sign a state lease |
| Move-out week | Condition report signed, utilities moved to the tenant, keys handed over |
| After you leave | Mail forwarding, separate rental account, a local contact for repairs |
Orders can change, and so can your date. Leave room in the timeline and make the lease start date match a date you can actually hand over the keys.
Managing from far away
Decide who handles a burst pipe at 2 a.m. You can manage the house yourself from a distance, hire a manager or ask a local helper to be your eyes. Our post on managing a single-family rental from another state covers the habits that matter: a local plumber on file, rent by bank transfer, photo reports and a repair limit the helper may approve without calling you.
Set a limit, say $300, below which a helper can fix things without asking. Above it, you approve.
If your tenant is also in the service
Under 50 U.S.C. 3955, read October 2026, a servicemember who signed a residential lease while in service and then receives PCS orders, or deployment orders for at least 90 days, may end the lease by written notice with a copy of the orders. For a monthly rent lease, termination takes effect 30 days after the first date the next rent payment is due after notice is delivered. The landlord may not impose an early termination charge, and rent paid in advance for the period after termination is refunded within 30 days. Plan for it: a lease with a military tenant can end sooner than its term.
Example a made-up tenant on a $1,900 lease gives notice with orders on March 10. The next rent payment is due April 1, so the lease ends 30 days after April 1, on May 1. The tenant owes rent through that date, prorated if needed, and any rent paid beyond it is refunded within 30 days.
How DoorKeeping handles it
DoorKeeping gives the house its own books from the first rent, matches rent from your bank feed and lets you check on it from anywhere by asking your own Claude or ChatGPT. Repairs go to a local helper by link, and anything involving money waits for your one-tap approval. It costs $2 per unit per month. DoorKeeping gives no legal advice, so your servicer and a military legal assistance office can advise on your own situation.
Sources
Questions
- Can I rent out my house when I get PCS orders?
- Often, but call your servicer first and read your occupancy clause. Then get landlord insurance and use a written lease.
- Can a military tenant end a lease early?
- Yes. 50 U.S.C. 3955 lets a servicemember end a residential lease signed while in service on PCS orders or a deployment of at least 90 days, with written notice and a copy of the orders.
- Can I charge an early termination fee to a servicemember tenant?
- No. The statute says the lessor may not impose an early termination charge.