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                               June 13, 1997
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                             GSBCA 13723-RELO


                  In the Matter of TRACIE GRISHAM-SANDERS


     Tracie Grisham-Sanders, St. Mary's, GA, Claimant.

     Judy Hughes, Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Columbus
Center, Columbus, OH, appearing for Department of Defense.

NEILL, Board Judge.

     Claimant, Ms. Tracie Grisham-Sanders, an employee of the
Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), seeks to be reimbursed for the loss
of a security deposit.  The deposit was retained by her lessor when
she found it necessary to vacate her apartment before the
expiration of the one-year lease term.  Because her departure was
occasioned by her transfer to another permanent duty station,
claimant sought to recover from her agency the amount in question
as part of her reimbursable relocation expenses.  The agency has
denied the claim.  On review of the record before us, we conclude
that the claim should be paid.

                                Background

     While employed at DLA s Defense Depot in Memphis, Tennessee,
claimant signed a one-year lease for an apartment.  The lease was
to run from April 15, 1995, through April 30, 1996.  On September
21, 1995, she received orders for a transfer from Memphis to Kings
Bay, Georgia.  

     Upon receipt of her transfer orders, Ms. Sanders promptly
advised the lessor in writing of her intent to vacate her
apartment.  In accordance with the terms of her lease, she then
paid one month s rent as well as a lease termination penalty equal
to another month's rent.  This payment was made pursuant to a lease
settlement clause in the lease which reads:  

     In the event LESSEE(s) is transferred by LESSEE(s)'S
     employer outside of the county or Metropolitan Area,
     then, upon submitting to LESSOR such evidence of such
     transfer as LESSOR may require, and upon giving LESSOR
     thirty (30) days written notice from the next rental
     payment date and the rent for the final thirty (30) day
     notice period plus a termination payment equal to one (1)
     month's rent accompanying such notice, LESSEE(s) shall
     have the right to cancel this agreement prior to the
     expiration of the original term, or any renewal terms
     hereof.  Under such circumstance, the LESSOR agrees that
     the lease may then be terminated at the expiration of
     said (30) day notice period conditioned, however, on the
     LESSEE(s) paying for all expenses which, in the LESSOR'S
     opinion, must be incurred in order to redecorate and
     refurbish the premises in order to obtain a new tenant
     for said premises.  

     The amount paid by claimant pursuant to this provision of the
lease amounted to $825, representing rent for two months.  She
submitted a claim for this amount and was paid by the agency.  

     In February 1996, claimant contacted her former lessor to ask
why her security deposit of $413 had not been refunded.  She was
told that the deposit had been forfeited when the lease was
terminated prior to the expiration date.  In support of this
action, an employee of the lessor cited the following provision in
the lease: 

     [T]he rental of the premises is with a ONE (1) YEARS
     [sic] MINIMUM rental beginning APRIL 15th, 1995, through
     APRIL 30th, 1996.  The total deposit will be forfeited if
     LESSEE(s) does not occupy the premises for the minimum
     period as specified herein.

     Claimant, thereupon, submitted a supplemental claim to the
agency for this amount.  The claim was disallowed.  The denial was
based upon an opinion of counsel advising that the lease, in his
opinion, did not support the landlord s claim on the security
deposit since it permitted early termination in the event of 
transfer by the tenant's employer.  

     Claimant attempted to dissuade counsel, pointing out that the
security deposit had been lost as a direct result of her transfer. 
She further pointed out that, under the Joint Travel Regulations
(JTR) of the Department of Defense (DOD), in the event of transfer,
she was entitled to reimbursement for an expense such as this
because it was directly attributable to termination of a lease
prior to the expiration date.  Claimant states that her efforts to
convince counsel were unsuccessful and that he merely suggested she
retain an attorney and sue the lessor for the amount in question.

     Ms. Sanders thereupon requested that her claim be referred to
the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS).  In the course
of reviewing this matter, a DFAS representative contacted Ms.
Sanders s former lessor to verify information concerning the claim. 
In conferring with a representative of the lessor, the DFAS
employee learned that the lessor planned to use the security
deposit to clean, exterminate and paint the apartment in
preparation for new tenants.  It was further explained by the
lessor's representative that Ms. Sanders would not have been
charged for this work but for the early termination of her lease.

     On completing review of Ms. Sanders s claim, DFAS determined
that it would be best to forward this claim to the General
Accounting Office on her behalf.

                                Discussion

     Ms. Sanders is entitled to reimbursement of the lost security
deposit.  It may well be that under the lease settlement clause,
the right to terminate the lease in the event of transfer
effectively renders inoperative any other provisions including that
concerning forfeiture of the tenant's security deposit. 
Nevertheless, the settlement clause itself requires the tenant to
pay  all expenses which, in the LESSOR'S opinion, must be incurred 
in order to redecorate and refurbish the premises in order to
obtain a new tenant for said premises.   From what the DFAS
employee has learned in discussion with a representative of the
lessor, the $413 in the security deposit is apparently deemed to be
a reasonable estimate of the cost of redecorating and refurbishing
the premises.  This is clearly a determination left to the lessor
under the lease settlement provision and, if reasonable, is
undoubtedly binding upon the tenant.  In this case, we consider the
amount in question to be a reasonable estimate of the costs in
question.   

     The claimant is correct that under the JTR she is entitled to
reimbursement of this cost.  Section C14005, which deals with the
reimbursement for costs incident to settlement of an unexpired
lease, provides that expenses paid by a transferred employee which
represent unavoidable expenses directly attributable to termination
prior to the expiration date are reimbursable.  There is no
question that this expense was unavoidable.  The lease settlement
provision gives the lessor the right to claim this cost and a
representative of the lessor has confirmed that the charge would
not have been made but for the early termination of the lease.    

     Ms. Sanders s claim for $413 should, therefore, be paid. 

  

                                   _____________________
                                   EDWIN B. NEILL
                                   Board Judge