Boston Bankruptcy Attorney
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) improves and expands the old Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act (SSCRA) signed in 1940. The SCRA provides a wide range of protections for individuals entering the military, being called to active duty in the military, or who are deployed servicemembers.
The Act is intended to postpone or to suspend certain civil obligations. This is designed to enable service members to devote their full attention to duty and to relieve stress on family members of deployed servicemembers.
Some of the obligations against which a servicemember is protected include:
- Outstanding credit card debt
- Mortgage payments
- Pending trials
- Taxes
- Terminations of lease
This law, signed in 2003, expands the law that protects servicemembers and their families from eviction from housing while on active duty due to nonpayment of rents that are $1,200 a month or less. Under the new provisions, the protection afforded for rent is increased substantially. The new law covers housing leases that are up to $2,720.95 per month. This is then adjusted annually to account for inflation.
Because people who are in the service frequently receive notice of deployment within a small window of time, some landlords penalize their tenants for breaking a lease. The SCRA provides a servicemember who receives permanent change of station orders or who is deployed to a new location for a period lasting 90 days or more the right to terminate a housing lease with no penalty.
The SCRA covers all active duty servicemembers, reservists, and members of the National Guard while on active duty. The protection begins on the date the individual enters active duty and typically ends within 30 to 90 days after the date of discharge.
Contact a Boston Bankruptcy Lawyer
For information on SCRA or on information on filing for bankruptcy, contact the Boston bankruptcy lawyers of Joshua Spirn & Associates at 1-800-975-5346.
