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Editorial: Expand tenants’ rights

Service members and their families are particularly vulnerable as the nation’s housing market melts down.

Many have found themselves with suddenly inflated mortgage payments for homes financed through subprime loans.

Others who rent their homes are being hit by rental rates that are rising with increased demand fueled by those who cannot afford the current home sales market.

Completing the vicious cycle, many good renters are being evicted as banks foreclose on property owners.

To its credit, the Pentagon recently won approval to cover the costs of moving household goods for families forced to leave rental housing in foreclosure.

And to be sure, troops do have some protections under the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act. Anyone on active duty cannot be evicted from a rental property without a valid court order, for example, and troops also can delay evictions when military duties prevent them from appearing in court.

Still, every state has different laws regarding evictions from rental properties. And if property owners have their legal ducks in a row, it’s possible for families to be turned out on the street with as little as one day’s notice.

The transient, unpredictable nature of military life makes troops more likely than their civilian peers to rent rather than buy housing. This leaves them at the mercy of property owners facing foreclosure who may not have their best interests at heart.

Congress should push legislation requiring owners of rental properties who are facing foreclosure to give ample advance notice to tenants.

Dumping anyone on the street is bad enough. Allowing a service member to be kicked out simply for being the tenant of the wrong property owner is unconscionable.