50 U.S.C. §3951 — Evictions and distress

scra-50usc-3951

SCRA §3951 protects servicemembers (and their dependents) from non-court-ordered eviction or distress, during a period of military service, from residential premises whose monthly rent does not exceed $2,400 (as adjusted annually for housing-price inflation by the Secretary of Defense per (a)(2)-(3)). The protection applies to [LENDER] when [LENDER] holds REO that is tenant-occupied (premises occupied as a residence by a servicemember or dependent) or when [LENDER] otherwise has landlord/paramount-title status over a residential rental. The court may, on a §3951(b) stay application from or on behalf of the servicemember tenant whose ability to pay agreed rent is materially affected by military service, stay the eviction proceedings for 90 days (longer or shorter as justice and equity require) or adjust lease obligations. Knowing participation in (or attempt at) a non-court- ordered eviction or distress within the section's scope is a federal misdemeanor (subsection (c)).

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source:
  type: regulation
  id: scra-50usc-3951
  authority: 50 U.S.C. §3951 — Evictions and distress
  description: |
    SCRA §3951 protects servicemembers (and their dependents) from
    non-court-ordered eviction or distress, during a period of military
    service, from residential premises whose monthly rent does not
    exceed $2,400 (as adjusted annually for housing-price inflation by
    the Secretary of Defense per (a)(2)-(3)). The protection applies
    to [LENDER] when [LENDER] holds REO that is tenant-occupied
    (premises occupied as a residence by a servicemember or dependent)
    or when [LENDER] otherwise has landlord/paramount-title status
    over a residential rental. The court may, on a §3951(b) stay
    application from or on behalf of the servicemember tenant whose
    ability to pay agreed rent is materially affected by military
    service, stay the eviction proceedings for 90 days (longer or
    shorter as justice and equity require) or adjust lease
    obligations. Knowing participation in (or attempt at) a non-court-
    ordered eviction or distress within the section's scope is a
    federal misdemeanor (subsection (c)).
obligations:
  - id: scra-50usc-3951-a1-no-non-court-eviction
    canonical_id: scra-50usc-3951-a1-no-non-court-eviction
    section: 50 U.S.C. §3951(a)(1) — Court-order requirement for eviction of servicemember tenants
    description: |
      [LENDER], when acting as a landlord (or other person with paramount
      title — e.g., as record owner of REO premises occupied by a
      servicemember tenant or dependents), may NOT (A) evict a
      servicemember or the dependents of a servicemember during a period
      of military service from premises occupied or intended to be
      occupied primarily as a residence and for which the monthly rent
      does not exceed the §3951(a)(1)(A)(ii) statutory ceiling ($2,400
      base, adjusted for inflation under (a)(2)-(3) and published in
      the Federal Register each year), nor (B) subject such premises to
      a distress during the period of military service — EXCEPT BY
      COURT ORDER. [LENDER] must obtain a court order before any lock-
      out, self-help dispossession, or distress against in-scope
      servicemember tenants.
    type: dont
    audit_question: For every REO or other tenant-occupied property in which [LENDER] holds landlord/paramount-title status and the tenant is a servicemember or dependent of a servicemember, can [LENDER] evidence that every eviction or distress was preceded by a court order (no self-help, no notice-only eviction), and that [LENDER] tracked the §3951(a)(1)(A)(ii) annual rent-ceiling adjustment published by the Secretary of Defense?
    program_review: Do the P&Ps ensure that, where [LENDER] holds landlord/paramount-title status (e.g., REO) over a servicemember/dependent tenant within the rent-ceiling scope, no eviction or distress occurs except by court order (no self-help, no notice-only eviction), and that the §3951(a)(1)(A)(ii) annual rent-ceiling adjustment is tracked?
    file_review: 'On tenant-occupied REO files, read the notes: confirm every eviction/distress was court-ordered and the rent-ceiling/servicemember status was checked. The compliance person judges whether the tenant was a covered servicemember/dependent within the ceiling.'
    judgment: true
    feeds: []
    workflow_phase: post-foreclosure
    owner_role: reo_property_manager
    secondary_owner_role: compliance_officer
    cadence: per-tenant-occupied-reo
    consequence: |
      A non-court-ordered eviction or distress against a servicemember
      tenant in scope is a federal misdemeanor under §3951(c) — fine
      under title 18, imprisonment up to one year, or both. Civil
      enforcement and private-right-of-action damages under §§4041 and
      4042.
    tags:
      - round-c
      - regulator-direct
      - scra
      - servicing
      - reo
      - servicemember-protection
      - eviction-protection
      - promoted
    primary_source:
      tier: 1
      authority: 50 U.S.C. §3951(a)(1)
      source_class: scra-statute
      source_url: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/50/3951
      snapshot_id: 1af351fb311162ac
      fetched_at: '2026-05-24T19:33:24Z'
      content_hash: sha256:cb7709b254a539fda214c52981c57cd1fbeaaed270ecbbbdfefc03903a003468
      paragraph_quote: Except by court order, a landlord (or another person with paramount title) may not—
      drafter_attestation: |
        Copied verbatim from snapshot 1af351fb311162ac (content.txt) at
        2026-05-24T19:41Z. Substring is the §3951(a)(1) operative chapeau;
        sub-clauses (A) (eviction, residence, rent ceiling) and (B)
        (distress) and (a)(2)-(3) inflation-adjustment mechanism are
        paraphrased in description.
    promoted_at: '2026-05-24T20:12:22+00:00'
    promoted_from: scra-50usc-3951-roundc-v1.yaml
  - id: scra-50usc-3951-b-stay-of-execution
    canonical_id: scra-50usc-3951-b-stay-of-execution
    section: 50 U.S.C. §3951(b) — Stay of eviction proceedings and lease adjustment
    description: |
      When [LENDER] applies for eviction or distress against premises
      covered by §3951 and the tenant servicemember (or someone on the
      servicemember's behalf) requests a stay on grounds that the
      servicemember's ability to pay agreed rent is materially affected
      by military service, the court SHALL grant the request — either by
      staying the proceedings for 90 days (with the court free to set a
      longer or shorter period as justice and equity require) OR by
      adjusting the obligation under the lease to preserve the interests
      of all parties. [LENDER] must accommodate the stay or adjustment
      order and may not seek default during the stay; if the stay is
      granted, [LENDER] may seek such relief as equity may require under
      §3951(b)(2).
    type: do
    audit_question: When a tenant servicemember invokes §3951(b) in an eviction [LENDER] is prosecuting, does [LENDER] (i) cease enforcement during the stay, (ii) document the stay order's duration and any lease-adjustment terms, and (iii) reflect the lease-adjustment terms in [LENDER]'s rent ledger?
    program_review: Does the program account for the §3951(b) stay/adjustment — when a tenant servicemember invokes it on a material-effect showing, ceasing enforcement during the stay, documenting the stay's duration and any lease-adjustment terms, and reflecting those terms in the rent ledger?
    file_review: 'On files where a tenant servicemember invoked §3951(b), read the notes and rent ledger: confirm enforcement ceased and the stay/adjustment terms were captured and applied. Objective presence/application check.'
    judgment: false
    feeds: []
    workflow_phase: post-foreclosure
    owner_role: reo_property_manager
    secondary_owner_role: compliance_officer
    cadence: per-stayed-eviction
    consequence: |
      Pressing forward against a §3951(b) stay risks contempt, vacatur
      of any default obtained, and adds to SCRA private-right-of-action
      exposure under §4042.
    tags:
      - round-c
      - regulator-direct
      - scra
      - servicing
      - reo
      - servicemember-protection
      - eviction-stay
      - lease-adjustment
      - promoted
    primary_source:
      tier: 1
      authority: 50 U.S.C. §3951(b)(1)
      source_class: scra-statute
      source_url: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/50/3951
      snapshot_id: 1af351fb311162ac
      fetched_at: '2026-05-24T19:33:24Z'
      content_hash: sha256:cb7709b254a539fda214c52981c57cd1fbeaaed270ecbbbdfefc03903a003468
      paragraph_quote: Upon an application for eviction or distress with respect to premises covered by this section, the court may on its own motion and shall, if a request is made by or on behalf of a servicemember whose ability to pay the agreed rent is materially affected by military service —
      drafter_attestation: |
        Copied verbatim from snapshot 1af351fb311162ac (content.txt) at
        2026-05-24T19:41Z. Substring is the §3951(b)(1) operative chapeau;
        clauses (A) (90-day stay, longer/shorter as equity requires) and
        (B) (lease adjustment) and (b)(2) relief-to-landlord are
        paraphrased in description.
    promoted_at: '2026-05-24T20:12:22+00:00'
    promoted_from: scra-50usc-3951-roundc-v1.yaml
_promotion_history:
  - promoted_at: '2026-05-24T20:12:22+00:00'
    candidate_path: obligations\_remediation\round-c-type-a\scra-50usc-3951-roundc-v1.yaml
    candidates_promoted: 2
    candidates_skipped_existing: 0

Verbatim regulatory text (2)

Verbatim provisions from 50 U.S.C. §3951 — Evictions and distress — each quote is a verified substring of the regulator-published source snapshot, not retyped. Quoted for reference; this is not legal advice. The operational layer (P&P updates, prompts) lives in the regulation update kits.

50 U.S.C. §3951(a)(1) — Court-order requirement for eviction of servicemember tenants

Except by court order, a landlord (or another person with paramount title) may not—

Source: 50 U.S.C. §3951(a)(1) · source URL · snapshot 1af351fb311162ac

50 U.S.C. §3951(b) — Stay of eviction proceedings and lease adjustment

Upon an application for eviction or distress with respect to premises covered by this section, the court may on its own motion and shall, if a request is made by or on behalf of a servicemember whose ability to pay the agreed rent is materially affected by military service —

Source: 50 U.S.C. §3951(b)(1) · source URL · snapshot 1af351fb311162ac