If you?re renting to tenants who are members of the U.S. military, there are specific federal laws that change the way a property owner can legally conduct business. Renting to military tenants is dissimilar from leasing to other tenants, evidently when it derives to overseeing tenants who break their lease or are periodically absent for training, securing the property, and collecting late rental payments. As a landlord, you need to know what the law says and how it may affect the tenant-landlord relationship to avoid violating your tenant?s rights.
Breaking the Lease
Associates of the U.S. military are under the mandate of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), which focuses on helping active military personnel and their families handle certain financial and legal obligations. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), covers many situations, along with an active member of the military who is leasing a home. As stated by this federal law, property owners are mandated to allow a tenant to break a lease without penalty if certain conditions are met.
For instance, when military personnel receives orders of transfer (deploy or induction) more than 35 miles from the property, a discharge, or if there is a loss of life, they can legally break their lease. While observing a military tenant?s appeal to break their lease can be a burden, by law renters cannot be penalized or their security or other deposits withheld for breaking a lease due to transfers or other service-related circumstances.
Training Absences
Active members of the military are relentlessly projected to attend training at locations around the country. Leaning on which branch of the military he or she stands to and where they have been stationed, this training could be as short as two weeks or as long as a month or more. If a renter announces that they will be gone for training, it is important to note that even an extended absence is not grounds for eviction or other legal action. Provided that the tenant intends to return to the property and continues to fulfill the lease terms, a landowner should perform the same.
Securing the Property
In the event of an extended absence, property proprietors may have apprehensions regarding the security of their rental house. Vacant houses are prone to fascinate endless types of bother, from vandals to break-ins and beyond. If you are near the place, you can survey on your property frequently to make certain that nothing is disordered. Still, if you are not in a position to do so, other alternatives could keep your property protected during those days that your tenant is not available, from security systems to hiring a property management company such as Real Property Management Southern Utah to watch closely on your property for you.
Collecting Late Rental Payments
Another protection offered by federal law is the precondition to delay eviction proceedings for nonpayment of rent. If the event that your tenant or one of their dependents is lodging in the rental house during their active military service, and the rent is $3,851.03 per month or less, then the court is required to give the tenant at least 90 days to address the situation. The SCRA does not prevent a landlord from serving an eviction notice, but it may prevent you from taking action against a service member tenant or their dependents.
In Conclusion
Those renters who are active members of the military demands both time and knowledge of the law. For other rental property proprietors unaware of the law, there are lots of ways to get yourself in legal trouble. But conscripting Real Property Management Vision can help. Our team of Universal City property managers have experience leasing properties to military tenants and have a full understanding of all related federal, state, and local laws. With our regulation, you can better guard your valuable investment and keep yourself and your tenant free from legal complications. Contact us today for more information.