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New law helps renters forced out by foreclosure

The Pentagon will now pay to move the household goods of military members who are being displaced because their landlord is facing foreclosure.

The new provision became law July 30 and comes just in time for one family.

On July 2, when Marine Corps wife Betty Young dropped off her rent, her landlord dropped a bombshell: She was in foreclosure, and her tenants would have to move out of their home in Springfield, Va. The landlord couldn’t give them a timeline.

“Coming up with the money to move would be a hardship for us,” Young said.

Worried that they’ll have little or no notice about when they need to move, she has been scrambling to find another house to buy or rent in the same school district so that she won’t have to uproot her twins.

“This will be our third move in two years,” Young said.

She’s done most of this legwork herself while holding down a full-time job — and while her husband, Master Sgt. Todd Young, tries to help as much as possible from the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, where he is stationed.

The Youngs are more fortunate than many families; at least they got some advance notice. Some families have had only a day’s notice, housing experts say.

The new household goods provision is part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, which became law on July 30. Under the law, a service member who relocates from leased or rental housing because of foreclosure is entitled to transportation of their household goods.

Defense Department officials want to get the word out to service members about their rights, said Army Col. Shawn Shumake, director of the office of legal policy for the undersecretary of defense for program integration.

“We want people to know there are things they can do,” Shumake said. “I don’t think people are trying to do wrong by our service members. But they may not know the law, either.

“We have recognized that as folks go into foreclosure, our military renters are going to be hit hard,” he said. “Our folks rent as a greater percentage than the population as a whole. Only about 25 percent own the home they live in at their current duty station.”

Changes are expected to be made in the Joint Federal Travel Regulations before the end of August. But the provision will be retroactive to July 30.

Arranging a move quickly can be tough. In ideal circumstances, service members have more lead time when arranging for a move at their transportation offices. This is where their protections under the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act play a huge role, Shumake said.

Service members have basic protections as renters regardless of whether they are deployed. For example, landlords cannot evict active-duty service members or their dependents from homes that they occupy as a primary residence without a valid court order. Getting such an order takes 30 to 60 days.

The law also has provisions that allow service members to delay court proceedings for evictions and other actions when their military service affects their ability to be present at the hearing. In some cases, courts must grant at least a 90-day delay, as long as the member meets all requirements.

Judith Liben, housing attorney at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, said about 40 percent of foreclosures in the U.S. involve rental properties.

“Every state has different landlord-tenant laws, so there is no national or federal law about what happens to the renter,” she said. Laws range from giving renters five days to leave the property after a foreclosure to barring the eviction of renters even after foreclosure except for good cause — and everything in between, Liben said.

But in general, foreclosure terminates a tenancy, she said.

Shumake and Liben have suggestions for service members and their families who find themselves in this situation, or worry that they will be:

• Contact the legal assistance office on base, which can provide information on state laws.

• Call Military OneSource at (800) 342-9647.

• For information on the foreclosure eviction laws for each state, compiled by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, go to http://www.nlihc.org. Click on “Research and Publications,” then “Special Topic: Renters in Foreclosure.” Go to the “Foreclosure Briefing: State Foreclosure Chart” link.

• Keep your eyes open for signs that your rental home could be headed to foreclosure, Liben said.

• Check local records of deeds.

• If you’re told you have to leave immediately, or are having trouble getting information, you can check with your state attorney general’s office.