El Paso Property Management Company to Pay $107,000 to Resolve Alleged Violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act

The Justice Department today announced that Integrity Asset Management LLC, a company that manages approximately 55 multi-family apartment properties in and around El Paso, Texas, has agreed to pay $107,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) by charging unlawful fees to servicemembers who terminated their residential leases early and by denying other servicemembers’ requests to terminate their leases.

“The SCRA requires that landlords allow servicemembers to terminate their leases without penalty if they receive qualifying military orders,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Early lease termination rights are critically important for members of our armed forces as they limit the costs and expenses associated with military moves and deployments. This consent order reaffirms the Justice Department’s firm commitment to protecting the rights of servicemembers, veterans, and their families.”

“Our office is committed to ensuring that landlords and property managers honor the rights of servicemembers and their families who willingly sacrifice for us all,” said the United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas Ashley Hoff. “Today’s settlement will provide relief to servicemembers who were impacted by Integrity’s actions.”

The SCRA allows servicemembers to terminate a lease early after entering military service or receiving qualifying military orders, such as permanent change of station orders, orders for a deployment of at least 90 days, stop movement orders, and separation or retirement orders. If a servicemember terminates a lease due to a deployment or other qualifying military orders, the SCRA prohibits the landlord from imposing any early termination charges.

Today, the department filed a complaint in federal court alleging that Integrity charged unlawful early termination fees to at least 17 servicemembers. Some of these early termination fees took the form of “concession chargebacks,” which required the servicemembers to pay back rent concessions or discounts that they had received during their tenancies. These charges ranged from $132 to $2,032 per servicemember. The suit also alleges that Integrity wrongfully denied two other servicemembers’ lease termination requests.

Under the proposed consent order that was filed concurrent with the complaint, and which still must be approved by the court, Integrity has agreed to pay $45,325 to the affected servicemembers and a $62,029 civil penalty to the United States. The order also requires Integrity to repair the servicemembers’ credit, provide SCRA training to its employees, and develop new policies and procedures that comply with the SCRA.

The Civil Rights Division’s Housing and Civil Enforcement Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas jointly handled this case.

Since 2011, the department has obtained over $476 million in monetary relief for over 121,000 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 have been violated should contact the nearest Armed Forces Legal Assistance Program Office. Office locations may be found at http://legalassistance.law.af.mil.