The PCS Housing
Checklist.
Six months out to the first thirty days in — a complete field guide for military families leasing from a distance.
PCSing is a series of decisions made under pressure, in the wrong time zone, with the wrong information. The families who land well are not lucky — they work from a checklist. This is that checklist, distilled from ten years of moves, two hundred landlord interviews, and the rules of the road that the military will never quite write down for you.
The Six-Month Window.
Remote leasing is the norm in military life — you are signing for a home you have never set foot in, often from another time zone. The families who land well start preparing the moment orders feel real, not the week the truck shows up.
- Mark the date you received verbal notice — even before written orders cut.
- Build a shared housing folder in Google Drive or iCloud for both spouses.
- Note your report-no-later-than (RNLT) date and back-plan from there.
- Identify your sponsor at the gaining command and ask for local intel early.
- Start a running list of questions for landlords; it will save you on call #4.
Calculate Your BAH.
Your Basic Allowance for Housing is the financial ceiling of this entire move. Know your rate before you fall in love with a listing — not after.
- Confirm your pay grade and dependent status as of your report date.
- Look up your gaining duty station's ZIP code (not your current one).
- Pull both with-dependents and without-dependents rates for comparison.
- Decide your personal cap — many families budget 90–95% of BAH for rent and reserve the rest for utilities.
- Re-check rates in January; BAH changes annually on Jan 1.
Search & Shortlist.
Before you ever email a landlord, set criteria on paper. A shortlist of five disciplined options beats a folder of forty open tabs.
- Decide on a maximum commute time to the front gate at peak hours.
- Pick a non-negotiable: yard, garage, on-base schools, pet-friendly, etc.
- Set a hard upper bound on rent based on your BAH calculation.
- Save 4–6 listings — no more, or you will lose all of them to indecision.
- Note which schools each shortlist address feeds; verify with the district, not the listing.
Screen Your Landlord.
The civilian rental world rarely understands military life. The questions below separate landlords who get it from the ones who will fight you on month 14.
- Have you rented to military families before? How recently?
- Are you familiar with the SCRA and how 30-day terminations work?
- Will you accept written PCS orders as termination notice without an early-out fee?
- How are utilities handled, and which ones are in the tenant's name?
- What is your typical response time when a repair is needed?
Application Documents.
Most denials are not about credit; they are about a paperwork pack that arrived late or incomplete. Build the kit once and reuse it across every shortlist application.
- A current LES (Leave and Earnings Statement) — within 30 days.
- A copy of your PCS orders, redacted if needed for OPSEC.
- Two prior-landlord references with phone numbers and dates of tenancy.
- Government-issued ID for every adult on the lease.
- A short, signed cover note explaining your timeline and report date.
- Proof of funds for first month's rent plus security deposit (state caps vary).
The Virtual Walkthrough.
If you are leasing from afar, a live video walkthrough is the closest thing you have to standing in the kitchen. Run it like a checklist, not a tour.
- Schedule a live FaceTime or Zoom — recorded videos hide too much.
- Ask the landlord to run every faucet, hot and cold, for 30 seconds each.
- Have them open and close every window and exterior door on camera.
- Pan the ceilings slowly in every room — water stains tell stories.
- Walk the yard or balcony, the HVAC unit, and the breaker box.
- Confirm cell signal in at least two corners of the home (it matters more than you think).
Your SCRA Rights.
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act is the single most important federal law in your housing life. Know it cold — and know that a Billet landlord has already acknowledged it before listing.
- You can terminate a lease early with written notice upon PCS orders or a deployment of 90+ days.
- Termination is effective 30 days after the first rental payment due date following your notice.
- You owe rent only through that termination date — no early-termination fee, ever.
- Provide a copy of your orders with the notice when you can; if orders are pending, the notice still stands.
- A spouse or dependent on the same lease is covered — the entire tenancy ends, not just yours.
- Lease clauses that try to waive SCRA rights are void under federal law.
Moving Logistics.
You will choose between a government-arranged move (HHG) and a personally procured move (PPM, formerly DITY). Both have trade-offs; pick deliberately, not by default.
- Submit your move request on MilMove the day orders are in hand.
- For HHG: confirm pack, pickup, and delivery windows in writing — and add buffer.
- For PPM: get weigh tickets at every step or you will not be reimbursed in full.
- Photograph high-value items before pack-out, with date metadata intact.
- Hand-carry orders, IDs, medical records, and a 5-day clothing kit. Never pack them.
- Verify your TMO point of contact for delivery and confirm a delivery-day phone tree.
Arrival Day.
The first 24 hours set the tone for the entire tenancy. Document everything; photographs and a written inventory will save you a security deposit fight a year from now.
- Walk every room with the landlord (or a witness) before the truck arrives.
- Take wide and close-up photos of every wall, floor, appliance, and fixture.
- Note existing damage in writing and have the landlord initial it.
- Confirm utilities are on and in your name — power, water, gas, internet.
- Test smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors; replace batteries on day one.
- Verify the address with finance for BAH disbursement; the wrong ZIP delays pay.
First Thirty Days.
You are in. Now build the systems that make this house a home — and make the next PCS easier than this one was.
- Register vehicles, update driver licenses, and forward mail through USPS.
- Enroll dependents in DEERS and Tricare for the new region.
- Schedule school enrollments and request records from the previous district.
- Find your MFRC, child development center, and on-base healthcare contacts.
- Set a recurring calendar reminder to flag any landlord repair issues in writing.
- Start your move-out folder now — receipts, photos, and a copy of every email.
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