So, if you find yourself in a position where you have an eviction with the person who is an active duty military, or the spouse of someone on active duty military service, you might have an issue. You won’t be able to proceed with trial.
For those of you who have filed a few evictions, particularly on a default eviction, you may recognize a requirement for you to fill out a form, that says that you have personal knowledge that the person you’re trying to evict is not a member, or is not the spouse of a service member on an active duty.
Eviction courts put the burden of disclosing the active duty status of a member of the U. S. armed forces on the Landlord. Ignorance of the military status of your tenants is not a defense.
So, you don’t want to be surprised about this for the first time, possibly on appeal, when it’s brought up. If you went to the trial, and filled out the form, then on appeal you can’t say, “I didn’t know that they are in the military” because you should have known or you could have known with the right research.
Your application process should include some space for them disclosing whether or not either the spouse or the tenant is in an active duty military or subject to active duty military service and that upon becoming active, they inform you.
This is not something that happens very often, but it is something to keep in mind. If it does happen, you could be set back in terms of the process. You also don’t want to get hit with a huge breach of contract claim later for evicting someone who wasn’t there winning in a default judgment, clearing all their stuff out, while they’re out defending our country.
So, make yourself aware of these things to the best of your knowledge. Be prepared to talk about what you know about your tenants. Have a frank discussion with your property manager about what must be found out before an eviction is filed.
It should go all the way back to the original application process. If you are not confirming employment or military status, you are shooting yourself in the foot.
When somebody applies for a rental unit that you own, you should always ask for it to be disclosed whether or not they are or may be involved in an active military service. That’s going to help you out tremendously, and you can prevent pitfalls and holdups when it comes to this kind of filing in the future, and save yourself from future litigation.
