question: In a recent column, you said that under Arizona law, a military man who was transferred to a California base would be required to pay two weeks of arrears of rent at his West Phoenix home. My understanding is that under federal law, all military personnel can be protected from paying criminal rent. For example, if a military member is called now to the Mexican border immediately to assist immigration-related efforts, then a military member does not have to worry about paying the rent arrears. According to your resume, you are a Marine Corps JAG, so you must be familiar with this federal law.
answer: Even though I was a Marine JAG, I was in the first Marine Division at Camp Pendleton. Our JAG team only participated in martial arts. Base law assists Marine Corps JAG officials to resolve civil issues such as evictions and child support arrears.
Anyway, the federal law you mentioned is the Servicembers Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”). SCRA is usually only applicable to early termination of a lease, as a clothing is being transferred and the tenant’s liability is limited to no more than 60 days of the remaining rent owed under the lease. However, the SCA may not be applicable to protecting “holding” tenants who occupy West Phoenix but have not paid rent for two weeks.
Contact real estate attorney Christopher A. Combs at chris@combslawgroup.com.
This article originally appeared in the Republic of Arizona: Does federal law protect service personnel from criminal rents?
