WASHINGTON – Two Hampton Roads landlords have agreed to pay $225,000 to resolve violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
The Justice Department announced that the landlords have agreed to pay $225,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) by obtaining unlawful court judgments against military tenants at the Hideaway at Greenbrier Luxury Apartment Homes in Chesapeake, and the Chase Arbor Apartments in Virginia Beach.
“Eviction judgments seriously jeopardize servicemembers’ ability to find and obtain affordable housing and negatively impact the financial readiness of our armed forces,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The department will vigorously pursue any landlord that obtains eviction judgments against servicemembers by misrepresenting their military status to the court.”
Under the SCRA, if a landlord files a civil lawsuit against a tenant and the tenant does not appear in court, the landlord must file an affidavit with the court stating whether the tenant is in the military before seeking a judgment. If the affidavit says that the tenant is in military service, the court cannot enter judgment until it appoints an attorney to represent the servicemember. The court must also postpone the case for at least 90 days.
According to a complaint filed, the department alleges that the owners of the Hideaway at Greenbrier and Chase Arbor Apartments filed false affidavits and failed to file affidavits of military service, as required by the SCRA, prior to obtaining default judgments against numerous servicemembers. Officials say the properties are affiliated with one another and used the same law firm to file eviction claims.
The department alleges that the owners knew or should have known that the affidavits that they filed were inaccurate. They say their files contained information that would have allowed them to easily verify their tenants’ military status. The department says landlords and lenders can also verify renter’s military status by using one website or by reviewing their files to see if there are applications, military leave and earnings statements or military orders indicating military status.
Under the proposed consent order, the owners will pay $162,971 to affected servicemembers and a $62,029 civil penalty to the United States. The order also requires the owners to vacate the eviction judgments, repair the servicemembers’ credit, provide SCRA training to their employees and develop new policies and procedures. The owners must also reimburse anyone for any amounts collected pursuant to an unlawful judgment.
