Frequently Asked Questions - Military Tenants
The SCRA is a special law, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, which protects the civilian side of the lives of our service members while they are serving [50 U.S.C. App. 501 et seq.]
Tenants in the military services are like any other tenants with one very important exception: if the tenant is on active military duty, in the event of a default, the storage operator may not foreclose its lien and sell the contents. (See: “Who is considered to be a ‘servicemember’?” and “What constitutes ‘active duty’?”)
Of course members of the uniformed services are servicemembers:
• Army
• Navy
• Marine Corps.
• Air Force
• Coast Guard
Some other forms of service also qualify:
• Commissioned officers of the Public Health Service on active service
• Commissioned officers of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on active service
• Members of the Reserves sometimes*
• Members of the National Guard sometimes*
(*See: “What constitutes ‘active duty’?”)
• Army
• Navy
• Marine Corps.
• Air Force
• Coast Guard
Some other forms of service also qualify:
• Commissioned officers of the Public Health Service on active service
• Commissioned officers of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on active service
• Members of the Reserves sometimes*
• Members of the National Guard sometimes*
(*See: “What constitutes ‘active duty’?”)
Apart from the usual information sought from renters, you should require the tenant’s:
• Date of birth, and
• Military ID number
To that end, you should demand to see their military ID card. (Their military ID number on it is the same as their social security number.) By law, you may not photocopy a military ID card, but you can copy down the ID number. The prohibition against photocopying is related to prevention of counterfeiting of such cards. It has nothing to do with protecting the identity of the card’s carrier. (See: “How can we determine if a tenant is still on active military duty?”)
Social security numbers in your care should be carefully protected. (See the FAQs on “Protected Property.”)
• Date of birth, and
• Military ID number
To that end, you should demand to see their military ID card. (Their military ID number on it is the same as their social security number.) By law, you may not photocopy a military ID card, but you can copy down the ID number. The prohibition against photocopying is related to prevention of counterfeiting of such cards. It has nothing to do with protecting the identity of the card’s carrier. (See: “How can we determine if a tenant is still on active military duty?”)
Social security numbers in your care should be carefully protected. (See the FAQs on “Protected Property.”)
Active duty essentially means while actively serving. It is not limited to service persons who are deployed at sea or abroad. Someone serving at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Arizona, for example, is considered to be on active duty.
Members of the Reserves are considered to be on active duty during annual 2-week to 29-day service periods.
Similarly, members of the National Guard are deemed to be on active duty while serving for a continuous period of 30 days or more.
WHEN ACTIVE DUTY BEGINS
Active duty is deemed to commence from the date the person receives orders to report for duty.
WHEN ACTIVE DUTY ENDS
For purposes of self-storage, active duty is deemed to end when the person dies, or 90 days after the person leaves military service.
Note that a person may be absent from actual military work and still be deemed to be on active duty:
• While absent from duty on account of sickness, wounds, leave or other lawful cause, and
• When missing in action, “until accounted for.”
Members of the Reserves are considered to be on active duty during annual 2-week to 29-day service periods.
Similarly, members of the National Guard are deemed to be on active duty while serving for a continuous period of 30 days or more.
WHEN ACTIVE DUTY BEGINS
Active duty is deemed to commence from the date the person receives orders to report for duty.
WHEN ACTIVE DUTY ENDS
For purposes of self-storage, active duty is deemed to end when the person dies, or 90 days after the person leaves military service.
Note that a person may be absent from actual military work and still be deemed to be on active duty:
• While absent from duty on account of sickness, wounds, leave or other lawful cause, and
• When missing in action, “until accounted for.”
The form must be specifically made for the purpose of waiving the protections of the SCRA. It must be clear and unambiguous so the tenant understands that it is a waiver of his/her protections. In fact, the waiver has to be in 12-point or larger type.
A storage operator who regularly rents to military tenants therefore may not build some SCRA waiver language into its standard lease language.
Storage operators are encouraged to require a signed waiver in all rentals to military personnel. While it would clearly be unconscionable to employ the waiver as against a military tenant who is in default while actively on deployment at sea or in a war zone, for example, the situation could look quite different later after that soldier has been home for a year, serving in Yuma while not paying his bills.
Importantly, the tenant giving the waiver must actually by on active duty at the time the waiver is signed. Someone planning to enlist next week is not yet in the military and therefore does not yet have any rights under the SCRA to waive. Such a waiver would be void. (See: “What constitutes ‘active duty’?”)
AZSA makes a conforming military waiver form available for free download from the AZSA website.
A storage operator who regularly rents to military tenants therefore may not build some SCRA waiver language into its standard lease language.
Storage operators are encouraged to require a signed waiver in all rentals to military personnel. While it would clearly be unconscionable to employ the waiver as against a military tenant who is in default while actively on deployment at sea or in a war zone, for example, the situation could look quite different later after that soldier has been home for a year, serving in Yuma while not paying his bills.
Importantly, the tenant giving the waiver must actually by on active duty at the time the waiver is signed. Someone planning to enlist next week is not yet in the military and therefore does not yet have any rights under the SCRA to waive. Such a waiver would be void. (See: “What constitutes ‘active duty’?”)
AZSA makes a conforming military waiver form available for free download from the AZSA website.
Maybe. The general rule is no. However, the law provides that dependents of servicemembers on active duty can obtain the same protections “upon application to a court,” in other words, with a court order.
The SCRA provides for the issuance of certificates of service evidencing that someone is on active duty. Getting one may or may not be easy to obtain.
THE EASIEST METHOD OF VERIFICATION
The Department of Defense maintains an SCRA website, as of the date of this writing, at:
www.dmdc.osd.mil/appj/scra/scraHome.do
at which free searches can be done. You need the person’s name, date of birth, and ideally, their social security number (military ID number). Searches can be conducted without the SSN, but the results, if any, may not be as certain.
SECOND BEST METHOD OF VERIFICATION
You may write to the personnel department of the military branch in question, along with payment of $5.20 (as of the date of this writing), and you may be successful in obtaining the information. It has been reported that it can take months to receive a response. It has similarly been reported that the Department of the Army has said that it will no longer issue certificates for want of personnel to handle the flood of inquiries. This would be contrary to the law, and it is unclear whether that is indeed the case.
THIRD METHOD OF VERIFICATION
Doing an Internet using the search term “SCRA searches” (without the quotes) will generate a number of commercial services which, for a fee, will obtain the necessary information.
THE EASIEST METHOD OF VERIFICATION
The Department of Defense maintains an SCRA website, as of the date of this writing, at:
www.dmdc.osd.mil/appj/scra/scraHome.do
at which free searches can be done. You need the person’s name, date of birth, and ideally, their social security number (military ID number). Searches can be conducted without the SSN, but the results, if any, may not be as certain.
SECOND BEST METHOD OF VERIFICATION
You may write to the personnel department of the military branch in question, along with payment of $5.20 (as of the date of this writing), and you may be successful in obtaining the information. It has been reported that it can take months to receive a response. It has similarly been reported that the Department of the Army has said that it will no longer issue certificates for want of personnel to handle the flood of inquiries. This would be contrary to the law, and it is unclear whether that is indeed the case.
THIRD METHOD OF VERIFICATION
Doing an Internet using the search term “SCRA searches” (without the quotes) will generate a number of commercial services which, for a fee, will obtain the necessary information.
The SCRA treats a violation of its terms as a misdemeanor subject to fines and/or up to 12 months in jail.
The best course is to go to court. A court is empowered to deal with all the aspects of the SCRA.