The SCRA requires courts to postpone (stay), for up to three months, some residential evictions for nonpayment of rent.

• Which tenants are affected? The SCRA applies if your spouse, children, or other dependents occupy the rental unit during a period of military service.

• Rental amount. The Act's protections apply when the rent is $2,400 per month or less. That figure -- chosen by Congress in 2003 -- is adjusted to account for inflation or cost of living increases.

• The effect on an eviction lawsuit. The Act does not prevent a landlord from serving a termination notice for the nonpayment of rent. But a landlord who has filed suit must tell the court that the tenant is an active service person (so be sure to notify your landlord when you are activated). The judge will decide whether the service person's status in the military materially affects his or her ability to pay the rent. If the judge decides that it does, the eviction case may be stayed for up to three months. If the judge decides otherwise, the lawsuit will continue and may result in an eviction.

• Requisitioned pay. The Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of Transportation may order that part of your pay be allotted to pay the rent, but only if your service branch has regulations in place providing for such allotments.

Protection From Court Actions and Repossessions

Congress recognized that it would be extremely unfair to allow civil court actions and judgments to proceed if the service person, whether a plaintiff or a defendant, was unable to attend the court proceedings. In addition, Congress added protections against repossession, because service people making less money than normal might be subject to repossession of their belongings for nonpayment.

Delay of All Civil Court Actions

The SCRA allows active service persons to ask for a postponement (stay) of many kinds of civil actions in which the service person is a defendant. In addition, when calculating the statute of limitations (the time during which a person must bring a lawsuit, or lose the right to do so), the period of time that the person has been in the military should not be counted.

These provisions of the Act have been used most frequently in foreclosure and domestic relations cases.

• Foreclosure. No lender, including credit unions, banks, and individuals, may foreclose on, seize, or sell the homes of military personnel during active duty and up to three months thereafter. To be eligible for this protection, you must have taken out the mortgage before you began active duty.

  However, a mortgage lender can request permission from the court to foreclose if it thinks that a borrower's active status has not materially affected his or her ability to pay the loan or appear in court. For example, a newly activated reservist whose income level has not dropped, who has been posted to a nearby city, and who can obtain leave to attend court will probably not qualify for a postponement of a foreclosure.

• Divorce proceedings. Active military personnel may ask for a postponement (stay) of divorce proceedings if they can show a court that their active status makes it impossible to attend the proceedings.

Default Judgments

When you are not on active duty, if you are sued but fail to show up in court, a judge may decide the case against you in your absence. In legal parlance, this is known as a "default judgment." Under the SCRA, a plaintiff -- someone suing you -- who seeks a default judgment against an absent active duty service member must tell the court that the service person is on active duty. If neither you nor your attorney appears in court, the court may appoint an attorney to represent you in your absence.

If the court enters a judgment against you during your military service, under certain circumstances you may be able to reopen the case later.

Repossessions

The SCRA prohibits repossessions performed without a court order (such as those done by merchants or "repo" specialists) of goods purchased by installment contract, such as consumer items or cars, as long as the purchase was made before active duty began. Merchants must go to court to obtain a court order before they can repossess an item. Once that happens, active duty service members may apply for a stay of repossession proceedings, which will be granted if the judge decides that the service person's ability to pay the debt has been materially affected by entering active service.