Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
The Justice Department resolved an enforcement matter against JWB Real Estate Management for violating the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) when it imposed illegal early termination charges on military servicemembers who terminated their leases after receiving military relocation orders.
JWB Property Management, a property management company based in Jacksonville, Florida, imposed early termination fees on at least six members of the U.S. military after they attempted to terminate their leases in accordance with the SCRA.
As a result of the Department’s enforcement, JWB will be required to pay over $39,000 in compensation to the affected servicemembers, as well as a $25,000 civil penalty. The company will also make changes to its policies and training to ensure that it complies with the SCRA in the future.
“Our military families already shoulder the burden of military-ordered moves and deployments,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We will not allow them to be penalized by landlords for answering the call of duty for service.”
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida is committed to protecting the rights of all our servicemembers,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe for the Middle District of Florida. “Our servicemembers make tremendous sacrifices to protect the rights and freedoms of our citizens and we will combat all forms of discrimination against them to help ensure that they are able to fulfill their military obligations.”
The Department’s enforcement of the SCRA is conducted by the Civil Rights Division’s Housing and Civil Enforcement Section. Since 2011, the Department has obtained over $483 million in monetary relief for over 148,000 servicemembers through its enforcement of the SCRA. For more information about the department’s SCRA enforcement efforts, please visit www.servicemembers.gov.
Servicemembers and their dependents who believe that their rights under the SCRA may have been violated should contact the nearest Armed Forces Legal Assistance Program Office. Office locations can be found at legalassistance.law.af.mil.