THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL 28 | FEBRUARY 2025 Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff. after military service ends. When this occurs, the creditor must forgive any annual interest that exceeds 6% for all covered periods.8 The creditor may not accelerate the loan for the forgiven interest. For leases, the SCRA permits service members to terminate leases into which they entered before entering military service or after military service if there is a permanent change of station (PCS) order in effect. The SCRA also prohibits landlords from evicting service members and their dependents from their primary residences if the monthly rent does not exceed the housing price inflation adjustment, as established by the U.S. Department of Defense.9 The SCRA also authorizes the court to adjust rental rates during covered periods to preserve the interests of all parties involved. The U.S. attorney general and private individuals may enforce the rights guaranteed by the SCRA. Additionally, violators of the SCRA could be subject to misdemeanor consequences, including imprisonment and/or fines. THE CHALLENGES In her article, “The Financial Impact of Military Service,” Susan Keating wrote: For veterans, there is a significant connection between financial problems and post-deployment adjustment issues including homelessness, incarceration, drug or alcohol abuse, physical aggression, and suicidal ideation. Money mismanagement (e.g. writing bad checks) is strongly associated with homelessness. Lack of resources to cover basic needs, as well as diagnoses of PTSD, MDD, or TBI can exacerbate these challenges.10 For many service members and veterans, housing problems are not always the result of money management problems. Consider the operation of the SCRA with respect to the cancellation of a residential lease. Under the SCRA, a service member may terminate a residential lease when that service member receives a PCS order or a deployment order for at least 90 days. However, the written notice is effective 30 days after the first date after the next rent due date. Depending on when the service member receives the order, they could be trapped in a residential lease with a rent obligation for 30 days longer than they can afford. Further complicating the situation are landlords who require waivers of SCRA rights. If enforceable, the waiver could trap a service member in a residential lease for months beyond their change order or deployment. This could impact the ability to obtain housing in their new location.11 There are also landlords who refuse to honor SCRA lease terminations. Similarly, many veterans face unique challenges with their housing resulting from service-related disabilities. Housing choices may be limited based on their disability- related needs. They are often victims of pretextual denials and evictions simply because landlords are unwilling to grant necessary accommodations – such as adjusting rent due dates to correspond with the receipt of disability benefits or adjusting pet policies to permit service and assistance animals. Foreclosures equally present challenges for veterans. In her article, “Foreclosures Rates for All 50 States in March 2024,” Nora Epstein identified Nowata, Caddo, Garfield, Custer and Murray as the counties with the highest eviction rates in Oklahoma as of March 2024.12 A combined total of 7,875 veterans are projected to live in these five counties.13 In the article “Thousands of veterans face foreclosure and it’s not their fault,” Chris Arnold and Robert Benincasa reported about the Queens, an Oklahoma veteran family who was threatened with foreclosure after accepting a COVID forbearance for their VA-backed loan.14 The report cited Kristi Kelly, a Virginia consumer lawyer, who stated, “The Department of Veterans Affairs has really let people down. The homeowners entered into COVID forbearances, they were made certain promises, and there were certain representations that For many service members and veterans, housing problems are not always the result of money management problems.
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