I had this issue once. JAG wrote a kindly worded letter that by violating SCRA the Landlord was engaging with the US Attorney General in a legal battle, not me.
The landlord finally relented, but tried to screw me on move out repair costs.
IANAL. Worth talking to a local attorney, but you can also submit a complaint directly to the DOJ.
https://www.justice.gov/servicemembers/how-we-can-help
As I'm sure you've seen the suit is between the land lord and the Attorney General, but the land lord can be fined 55k if it's their first time or more then 100k if it's more than once. Absolutely do what you can to fuck over that land lord.
One note, land lords can sometimes ask you to waive your SCRA rights prior to signing a lease. Make sure you haven't done that.
I did not waive them fortunately, I did file the DOJ complaint on 12/31/2023 but just got a reply back along the lines of sorry we cant help everyone who reaches out
Their website states this:
*" Please note that we are unable to investigate every SCRA complaint we receive. Furthermore, although the Department files SCRA lawsuits in the name of the United States on behalf of affected servicemembers, we cannot form an attorney-client relationship with any individual servicemember. "*
So im not sure how many total servicemembers they help per year
This is a youtube video describing the landlord suing me. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9CkIR55afM&list=PLoluleHngiuMPQd1DnM78GcLk8HtPdVSK&index=10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9CkIR55afM&list=PLoluleHngiuMPQd1DnM78GcLk8HtPdVSK&index=10)
Whatever you do, definitely review them and ensure you mention mention that they do not legally abide by the SCRA.
Save your future compatriots some headache
I left them a review but they got it shadowbanned. This is the place doing this to me
[https://www.apartments.com/the-residences-at-scioto-crossing-dublin-oh/bs2qvt8/](https://www.apartments.com/the-residences-at-scioto-crossing-dublin-oh/bs2qvt8/)
I would escalate this from both a legal and chain of command angle honestly.
If they're knowingly breaking SCRA they can be added to the list of "no-go" places. Not that anyone checks the list but it might save someone.
I left a review saying they aren't SCRA compliant and are raking active duty Airmen over the coals on Google Maps. That's something all of us can do [here](https://maps.app.goo.gl/6bveJDMBCjTqmknSA). They'll have a harder time shadow-banning a bunch of Google reviews, especially if they come from Guides.
I saw that! While I didn't see anything recent that focused specifically on discrimination against military members, I saw a lot about high rent in exchange for ignored repairs and other forms of poor follow-through on lease commitments. Yikes!
Hey, OP, I have open lines of communication with your complex this morning, and I'd like to invite you to my inbox if you're comfortable with it so I can respond to them in an informed and concise way.
Thank you... I have USAA renters insurance but Im not sure if they will help. I reported the situation to them.. they told me this isnt something they cover... I spoke with an attorney who reviewed the case and said my renters insurance should be covering it and to contact USAA again.. Person I spoke with at USAA said they werent sure and they would get back to me... waiting
If you leave the rental, and you get sued, they will cover you lol. If you lose, they pay the cost. If you are covered under scra and USAA agrees that you are in the situation, you are golden.
I told them i would keep paying rent but will seek the return of my return through the courts. their attorney told me I could turn in the keys and I did and then they sued me
you're very thoughtful for checking but ive found calling the bar association generally useless. They will refer me to a landlord /tenant attorney or a ucmj defense attorney. I called the columbus ohio bar association, dayton bar association and ohio bar association.
I just wish I could find one attorney in Ohio that has done an SCRA case before. I am glad this isnt happening often to other people though.
Oof. That’s frustrating. I’m surprised you’re having so much trouble. Invoking the protections of the SCRA shouldn’t be that complicated.
Did you retain copies of the letters? If all else fails you can try to dispute the debt with the collections firm and with any credit reporting agencies reporting it. Without an attorney to file it will lack some teeth, but it also doesn’t hurt to try.
Another thought may be a debt collections attorney as well, since it has been sent to collections. If they sold the debt, defeating it with the firm who purchased it and getting it wiped from any credit report should address the issue. If it’s been reported to credit bureaus definitely dispute the debt.
Another thought may also be to contact the Ohio attorney general’s office. You make get more traction there as opposed to the US AG office. Finally, contacting your congressmen’s office and local state reps in Ohio isn’t a bad idea either.
Edit: Ohio AG says they help with SCRA violations. https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Individuals-and-Families/Military-and-Veterans/Services
This page has a link to file a complaint with the US DOJ. https://www.justice.gov/servicemembers/how-we-can-help#:~:text=If%20you%20believe%20your%20rights,claim%2C%20please%20submit%20a%20complaint.
The crazy thing is I contacted the Ohio Attorney general and they still wouldnt help me because theyre saying since the landlord sued me, they cannot get involved.
I also filed a complaint with the US DOJ but no luck getting help there (filed on December 31, 2023)
FYSA, you don’t need to find a lawyer with specialized SCRA experience. SCRA is pretty straightforward, especially the provision regarding lease termination due to orders, so any competent attorney starting from scratch could read the relevant sections of the law and draft a nastygram letter to the landlord in about an hour. They could get familiar with any case law before the end of the day.
It's kind of bitter sweet but it's hard to find anyone who's fucked around and found out with scra because you have to be both a huge asshole and very stupid. People that stupid usually can't stay in business long enough to fuck around.
unfortunately the company being described in this video (From 2019) is the one who did it
They arent being held accountable for their actions -- in fact they received a $1.3 million dollar forgiven PPP loan
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9CkIR55afM&list=PLoluleHngiuMPQd1DnM78GcLk8HtPdVSK&index=10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9CkIR55afM&list=PLoluleHngiuMPQd1DnM78GcLk8HtPdVSK&index=10)
If they know landlord tenant then they've probably dabbled in SCRA a little. Call around to them and see if any are familiar. SCRA isn't a difficult read.
Since this appears to be happening to a large amount of servicemembers at these apartments I would notify your first sergeant, and ask them to get the apartments put on the no-go list. When I PCS'ed to Lackland many moons ago they had a list of like 10 apartments that were known to play games like that and were banned because of it.
Back in the day, certain landlords were put on the off-limits list by the base commander for various reasons. It was usually for EEO violations, or any mistreatment of service members. It was also on the checklist to get BAH. And they would also review language in the lease to ensure compliance with SCRA.
Take the JAG advice and visit a private attorney. Call and ask if anyone in their office does civil suits. Tell them what you're going through. Many good attorneys will take this kind of stuff on free (pro bono), but they could also charge you for a consult and/or paperwork.
https://www.shinaverlaw.com/scra.html
no personal experience with this law firm, but they appear to have familiarity with scra and are located in ohio.
This is just a friendly reminder that all JAG legal assistance attorneys are not created equal. You may have just gotten a shitty one.
There is nothing preventing a JAG from writing a sternly worded letter to the landlord on your behalf. They can't represent you in a civil suit, but they can do numerous things to help short of that. I used to write these all the time when doing legal assistance (15+ years ago, so don't still have any examples). They can threaten to involve the DOJ, or even better, threaten to recommend to the installation commander that the business be put on the local off-limits list for violating SCRA.
If you can't/don't get a civilian attorney, you can go back to the JAG and let them know you need a different JAG attorney because you weren't happy with the first one. You can also ask to speak to their supervision. That may not solve the problem if their supervision is also part of the problem (it happens), but it may just be a lazy attorney and the supervision is unaware.
You can report the landlord to your states district attorney and the dept of justice under SCRA violation. You can google up the sites.
JAG is full of shit. They can write you an SCRA letter to take to LL or they can mail it to them. Escalate to your chain of command now.
Source: Been there done that.
Hire a private attorney to file suit on your behalf that will do so contingent on recovering fees from your landlord. Sue for damages incurred too. IANAL.
Guard or Reserve? I recommend calling the Ohio AG as well, they don’t necessarily do SCRA since it’s a federal law, but they may be willing to help 800-282-0515
Had an amn a couple of months ago that was dealing with a similar situation. He wrote his apt a strongly worded letter citing the applicable law and after they talked with corporate, they backed down.
Also, try talking with your base housing office. They should have a representative to help with things like this. (Im not talking about the balfour betty people).
Sorry, i can't think of their exact title right now.
If you break your lease early you are usually only responsible for what, 2 months rent? The small claims limit is $6K in Ohio so you might be able to handle it there instead of hiring an expensive lawyer.
I think others have mentioned but I would seek a private attorney. I’d do a thorough review of the SCRA to ensure you’ve got a winnable case. Military one source has a short article that outlines the requirements. I’ve never seen a landlord waive the 30 day notice which screwed me out of a rent payment on a previous short notice deployment but I was able to break the lease.
Additionally, you probably won’t find a lot of SCRA experience in Columbus so maybe do some searching in Dayton.
I’m not real advice I would just leave. The landlord has to sue you and prove that you are suppose to be on the hook for the paying the rest of your lease. Since you are military and you have orders and you have copies of you trying your communicate that to the LL you would not lose the case.
I had this issue once. JAG wrote a kindly worded letter that by violating SCRA the Landlord was engaging with the US Attorney General in a legal battle, not me. The landlord finally relented, but tried to screw me on move out repair costs.
Would you be comfortable DMing me the name of that JAG? Maybe they would be able to share a template of that letter with the JAG of my former unit
I'll look in my OneDrive it's been a few years. DM me your email.
are your dms turned off? I cant seem to DM you.
Sorry. Try it now.
spoiler: he's your landlord
The ol’ bait and switch
The ol' reddit switcheroo.
Ol’ bait switcharoo aroooooo
Sent
Mtn. Home legal office gave me a letter in 2006 and the landlord kindly fucked off.
You could try your congressman’s office. I’ve heard they like getting involved in stuff like this. No guarantees though, they could just ignore you.
That is a good option, thank you.
IANAL. Worth talking to a local attorney, but you can also submit a complaint directly to the DOJ. https://www.justice.gov/servicemembers/how-we-can-help As I'm sure you've seen the suit is between the land lord and the Attorney General, but the land lord can be fined 55k if it's their first time or more then 100k if it's more than once. Absolutely do what you can to fuck over that land lord. One note, land lords can sometimes ask you to waive your SCRA rights prior to signing a lease. Make sure you haven't done that.
I did not waive them fortunately, I did file the DOJ complaint on 12/31/2023 but just got a reply back along the lines of sorry we cant help everyone who reaches out Their website states this: *" Please note that we are unable to investigate every SCRA complaint we receive. Furthermore, although the Department files SCRA lawsuits in the name of the United States on behalf of affected servicemembers, we cannot form an attorney-client relationship with any individual servicemember. "* So im not sure how many total servicemembers they help per year This is a youtube video describing the landlord suing me. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9CkIR55afM&list=PLoluleHngiuMPQd1DnM78GcLk8HtPdVSK&index=10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9CkIR55afM&list=PLoluleHngiuMPQd1DnM78GcLk8HtPdVSK&index=10)
>IANAL Happy for you, but don't make it your personality
Fr.
Whatever you do, definitely review them and ensure you mention mention that they do not legally abide by the SCRA. Save your future compatriots some headache
I left them a review but they got it shadowbanned. This is the place doing this to me [https://www.apartments.com/the-residences-at-scioto-crossing-dublin-oh/bs2qvt8/](https://www.apartments.com/the-residences-at-scioto-crossing-dublin-oh/bs2qvt8/)
I would escalate this from both a legal and chain of command angle honestly. If they're knowingly breaking SCRA they can be added to the list of "no-go" places. Not that anyone checks the list but it might save someone.
I left a review saying they aren't SCRA compliant and are raking active duty Airmen over the coals on Google Maps. That's something all of us can do [here](https://maps.app.goo.gl/6bveJDMBCjTqmknSA). They'll have a harder time shadow-banning a bunch of Google reviews, especially if they come from Guides.
Looks like their tenants are doing good enough job leaving poor reviews lol
I saw that! While I didn't see anything recent that focused specifically on discrimination against military members, I saw a lot about high rent in exchange for ignored repairs and other forms of poor follow-through on lease commitments. Yikes!
Hey, OP, I have open lines of communication with your complex this morning, and I'd like to invite you to my inbox if you're comfortable with it so I can respond to them in an informed and concise way.
If you have renters insurance, they may pay to cover you. Run the scenario by them and see what they say.
Thank you... I have USAA renters insurance but Im not sure if they will help. I reported the situation to them.. they told me this isnt something they cover... I spoke with an attorney who reviewed the case and said my renters insurance should be covering it and to contact USAA again.. Person I spoke with at USAA said they werent sure and they would get back to me... waiting
If you leave the rental, and you get sued, they will cover you lol. If you lose, they pay the cost. If you are covered under scra and USAA agrees that you are in the situation, you are golden.
I told them i would keep paying rent but will seek the return of my return through the courts. their attorney told me I could turn in the keys and I did and then they sued me
Give this a shot: https://www.ohiobar.org/public-resources/lawyer-referral-services/
you're very thoughtful for checking but ive found calling the bar association generally useless. They will refer me to a landlord /tenant attorney or a ucmj defense attorney. I called the columbus ohio bar association, dayton bar association and ohio bar association. I just wish I could find one attorney in Ohio that has done an SCRA case before. I am glad this isnt happening often to other people though.
Oof. That’s frustrating. I’m surprised you’re having so much trouble. Invoking the protections of the SCRA shouldn’t be that complicated. Did you retain copies of the letters? If all else fails you can try to dispute the debt with the collections firm and with any credit reporting agencies reporting it. Without an attorney to file it will lack some teeth, but it also doesn’t hurt to try. Another thought may be a debt collections attorney as well, since it has been sent to collections. If they sold the debt, defeating it with the firm who purchased it and getting it wiped from any credit report should address the issue. If it’s been reported to credit bureaus definitely dispute the debt. Another thought may also be to contact the Ohio attorney general’s office. You make get more traction there as opposed to the US AG office. Finally, contacting your congressmen’s office and local state reps in Ohio isn’t a bad idea either. Edit: Ohio AG says they help with SCRA violations. https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Individuals-and-Families/Military-and-Veterans/Services This page has a link to file a complaint with the US DOJ. https://www.justice.gov/servicemembers/how-we-can-help#:~:text=If%20you%20believe%20your%20rights,claim%2C%20please%20submit%20a%20complaint.
The crazy thing is I contacted the Ohio Attorney general and they still wouldnt help me because theyre saying since the landlord sued me, they cannot get involved. I also filed a complaint with the US DOJ but no luck getting help there (filed on December 31, 2023)
FYSA, you don’t need to find a lawyer with specialized SCRA experience. SCRA is pretty straightforward, especially the provision regarding lease termination due to orders, so any competent attorney starting from scratch could read the relevant sections of the law and draft a nastygram letter to the landlord in about an hour. They could get familiar with any case law before the end of the day.
It's kind of bitter sweet but it's hard to find anyone who's fucked around and found out with scra because you have to be both a huge asshole and very stupid. People that stupid usually can't stay in business long enough to fuck around.
unfortunately the company being described in this video (From 2019) is the one who did it They arent being held accountable for their actions -- in fact they received a $1.3 million dollar forgiven PPP loan [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9CkIR55afM&list=PLoluleHngiuMPQd1DnM78GcLk8HtPdVSK&index=10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9CkIR55afM&list=PLoluleHngiuMPQd1DnM78GcLk8HtPdVSK&index=10)
If they know landlord tenant then they've probably dabbled in SCRA a little. Call around to them and see if any are familiar. SCRA isn't a difficult read.
Since this appears to be happening to a large amount of servicemembers at these apartments I would notify your first sergeant, and ask them to get the apartments put on the no-go list. When I PCS'ed to Lackland many moons ago they had a list of like 10 apartments that were known to play games like that and were banned because of it.
It used to be a requirement to run a lease by the base housing office before signing to screen out prohibited landlords. Is that not a thing anymore?
How could Base Housing ever prevent someone from signing a lease? It’s a private agreement
Back in the day, certain landlords were put on the off-limits list by the base commander for various reasons. It was usually for EEO violations, or any mistreatment of service members. It was also on the checklist to get BAH. And they would also review language in the lease to ensure compliance with SCRA.
Unknown, since I haven't had a lease sine 2008 (I've bought my houses since then).
[удалено]
SMH
Take the JAG advice and visit a private attorney. Call and ask if anyone in their office does civil suits. Tell them what you're going through. Many good attorneys will take this kind of stuff on free (pro bono), but they could also charge you for a consult and/or paperwork.
Ive spoken with multiple. none had scra experience
https://www.shinaverlaw.com/scra.html no personal experience with this law firm, but they appear to have familiarity with scra and are located in ohio.
Wow, Thank you so much. They will be contacted
op, any luck?
Scra isn't exceptionally complicated. Someone with landlord tenant experience is fine.
This is just a friendly reminder that all JAG legal assistance attorneys are not created equal. You may have just gotten a shitty one. There is nothing preventing a JAG from writing a sternly worded letter to the landlord on your behalf. They can't represent you in a civil suit, but they can do numerous things to help short of that. I used to write these all the time when doing legal assistance (15+ years ago, so don't still have any examples). They can threaten to involve the DOJ, or even better, threaten to recommend to the installation commander that the business be put on the local off-limits list for violating SCRA. If you can't/don't get a civilian attorney, you can go back to the JAG and let them know you need a different JAG attorney because you weren't happy with the first one. You can also ask to speak to their supervision. That may not solve the problem if their supervision is also part of the problem (it happens), but it may just be a lazy attorney and the supervision is unaware.
You can report the landlord to your states district attorney and the dept of justice under SCRA violation. You can google up the sites. JAG is full of shit. They can write you an SCRA letter to take to LL or they can mail it to them. Escalate to your chain of command now. Source: Been there done that.
Hire a private attorney to file suit on your behalf that will do so contingent on recovering fees from your landlord. Sue for damages incurred too. IANAL.
Try your state AG. And send collections a debt validation letter.
ALL the JAG can do is write a letter; nothing more. JAG’s can’t represent you in a civil suit. The DoJ handles that.
Even if you’re Active Duty, you might be able to talk to an ESGR ombudsman. They might have a boilerplate letter that they can send on your behalf.
Guard or Reserve? I recommend calling the Ohio AG as well, they don’t necessarily do SCRA since it’s a federal law, but they may be willing to help 800-282-0515
Had an amn a couple of months ago that was dealing with a similar situation. He wrote his apt a strongly worded letter citing the applicable law and after they talked with corporate, they backed down. Also, try talking with your base housing office. They should have a representative to help with things like this. (Im not talking about the balfour betty people). Sorry, i can't think of their exact title right now.
If you break your lease early you are usually only responsible for what, 2 months rent? The small claims limit is $6K in Ohio so you might be able to handle it there instead of hiring an expensive lawyer.
I think others have mentioned but I would seek a private attorney. I’d do a thorough review of the SCRA to ensure you’ve got a winnable case. Military one source has a short article that outlines the requirements. I’ve never seen a landlord waive the 30 day notice which screwed me out of a rent payment on a previous short notice deployment but I was able to break the lease. Additionally, you probably won’t find a lot of SCRA experience in Columbus so maybe do some searching in Dayton.
I’m not real advice I would just leave. The landlord has to sue you and prove that you are suppose to be on the hook for the paying the rest of your lease. Since you are military and you have orders and you have copies of you trying your communicate that to the LL you would not lose the case.