I know this may sound like a stupid question, but I want to be sure I am understanding this correctly. Generally, if the servicemember is within in his period of military of service and the rent is below the applicable threshhold, you cannot evict.
However, you can evict if:
- the period of military service is over;
- the rent exceeds the threshhold;
- the servicemember is not paying or breaches the lease (only with court order);
- the lease, as originally written, expires;or
- the servicemember waives this rights under the SCRA.
Does that sound right? I know we need to consider reputational risk, but from a legally we can do it (not that we will do it) standpoint, do I have this right?
If you are talking about leases for premises and the eviction part of the SCRA found in Section 531, you are basically correct in your analysis. I'd add a couple of things:
-- this part of the law only applies to circumstances where the servicemember or dependents of a servicemen are occupying the rental property primarily as a residence, or intend to occupy it primarily as a residence.
-- make sure you are looking at the most current rent amount;
-- in connection with the eviction, utilize an affidavit of lack of knowledge of military service that asserts the lessee is not a servicemember. Utilize the military database to make sure that is correct.
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