Section 409.

(a) This section shall apply to any lease covering premises occupied for dwelling, professional, business, agricultural, or similar purposes in any case in which the lease was executed by or on the behalf of a person who, after the execution of such lease, entered military service, as defined by Section 400.

(b) Any lease, as provided in subdivision (a), may be terminated by notice in writing delivered to the lessor or to the lessor's agent by the lessee at any time following the date of the beginning of the period of military service. Delivery of this notice may be accomplished by placing it in an envelope properly stamped and duly addressed to the lessor or to the lessor's agent and depositing the notice in the United States mail. Termination of any lease providing for monthly payment of rent shall be effective on the last day of the month following notice and in any case, no more than 45 days after notice is provided to the lessor and payable subsequent to the date when the notice is delivered or mailed. In the case of all other leases, termination shall be effected on the last day of the month following the month in which the notice is delivered or mailed and, in that case, any unpaid rent for a period preceding termination shall be prorated and any rent paid in advance for a period succeeding termination shall be refunded by the lessor. Upon application by the lessor to the appropriate court prior to the termination period provided for in the notice, any relief granted in this paragraph shall be subject to any modification or restriction as in the opinion of the court justice and equity may, in the circumstances, require.

(c) Any person who shall knowingly seize, hold, or detain the personal effects, clothing, furniture, or other property of any person who has lawfully terminated a lease covered by this section, or in any manner interfered with the removal of that property from the premises covered by that lease, for the purpose of subjecting or attempting to subject any of the property to a claim for rent accruing subsequent to the date of termination of the lease, or attempts to do so, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punishable by imprisonment not to exceed one year or by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both.

(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 60, Sec. 6. Effective June 21, 2002.)