If you are in military service or are a servicemember's dependent, the place is mainly your home, and the rent is $10,542.60 a month or less, your landlord cannot evict you during that service without a court order. And if military service has materially affected the servicemember's ability to pay the rent, the court must pause the case or adjust the lease once the servicemember, or someone for them, asks. Both rules are in 50 U.S.C. 3951, section 301 of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
If you have seen $2,400 quoted, that is the 2003 figure. It is the number written into the statute, and it is recalculated every year from a rent price index. For 2026 the Department of Defense published $10,542.60 a month, effective 1 January 2026. Rent above the old figure and up to the new one is covered. Check your own lease below.
Are you covered
Section 3951(a)(1) protects a tenancy when all three of these are true. Each line quotes the statute, so you can hold it against your own situation.
| Condition | What the statute says |
|---|---|
| Who | "a servicemember, or the dependents of a servicemember", and only "during a period of military service of the servicemember" |
| The home | premises "occupied or intended to be occupied primarily as a residence", so a place you have rented but not yet moved into counts |
| The rent | "the monthly rent does not exceed" the yearly limit: $10,542.60 for 2026. Rent of exactly that amount is covered. |
Check your own lease
Four questions, checked against the words of 3951(a)(1) and the 2026 limit. Nothing you enter leaves this page.
The 2026 rent limit, and where it comes from
The statute sets a starting figure and a formula, then leaves the yearly number to the Department of Defense.
| Figure | Monthly rent | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Written into the statute, for 2003 | $2,400 | 50 U.S.C. 3951(a)(1)(A)(ii) |
| Calendar year 2026 | $10,542.60 | 91 FR 11527, effective 1 January 2026 |
How it moves. For every year from 2004, 3951(a)(2) raises the $2,400 by the percentage by which one Bureau of Labor Statistics index, the "Consumer Price Index, All Urban Consumers, Rent of Primary Residence, U.S. City Average", for November of the year before is higher than the same index for November 1984. Under (a)(3) the Secretary of Defense must publish the result in the Federal Register each year, no later than 60 days after the adjustment is made.
Dates on the 2026 notice. It was published on 10 March 2026 and says the figure is effective from 1 January 2026. The notice cites the statute as "(a)(1)(A)(2)"; the rent limit actually sits in (a)(1)(A)(ii), which is the citation to use in a letter or a court filing.
The 2027 figure is calculated from the November 2026 index, so it did not exist yet when we checked this page against the 2026 notice itself on 21 September 2026.
What a landlord cannot do without a court order
Section 3951(a)(1) opens with "Except by court order" and then bars two things. It binds "a landlord (or another person with paramount title)", so it reaches beyond the person named on your lease.
- Evict. No eviction of the servicemember or their dependents from covered premises during military service. Locking you out or putting your things outside without a court order falls within what this section bars.
- Distress. No "distress" on the premises during military service without a court order. Distress generally means seizing a tenant's belongings to cover unpaid rent, such as holding them until rent is paid.
It is a crime. Under 3951(c), a person who "knowingly takes part in an eviction or distress described in subsection (a), or who knowingly attempts to do so" can be fined under title 18, imprisoned for up to one year, or both. That covers anyone who knowingly takes part, not only the landlord.
What the court must do if you ask
The landlord can still go to court. What 3951(b)(1) changes is what happens once the case is in front of a judge. 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", do one of two things:
- "stay the proceedings for a period of 90 days, unless in the opinion of the court, justice and equity require a longer or shorter period of time"; or
- "adjust the obligation under the lease to preserve the interests of all parties".
| If | What follows | Where |
|---|---|---|
| The servicemember, or someone for them, asks, and military service has materially affected the servicemember's ability to pay the agreed rent | The court must stay the case (90 days unless justice and equity call for a different length) or adjust the lease | (b)(1) |
| Nobody asks | The court may do either on its own, but does not have to | (b)(1) |
| A stay is granted | The court may give the landlord "such relief as equity may require" | (b)(2) |
| A court order requires it | The Secretary concerned, the official the statute names, makes an allotment from the servicemember's pay to meet the order, up to a maximum set by regulation | (d) |
The word that matters is "shall", and it is tied to a request. A judge who is never asked does not have to grant relief under (b)(1). Ask in writing, and ask early. The request can be made "by or on behalf of" the servicemember; the section does not say who may act for them, so if the servicemember cannot make it, ask legal assistance how.
The section does not define "materially affected", so make the link plain: the orders, the dates, and what changed in the servicemember's pay or household when service began or moved them.
What 3951 does not do
- It does not cancel the rent. A stay pauses the case, and an adjustment changes the lease terms "to preserve the interests of all parties". Do not expect the rent to be written off, and (b)(2) lets the court give the landlord relief too.
- It does not cover rent over the limit. At $10,542.61 a month or more in 2026, this section does not apply. Other parts of the SCRA or your state's law may, and that is a question for legal assistance.
- It does not stop a landlord going to court. It makes the court the only route.
- It does not end your lease. If you have orders and want to leave rather than stay, that is a different section, 50 U.S.C. 3955, set out in our military lease guide. Without orders, see what is left when the SCRA does not apply.
If you receive eviction papers
- Read the dates and do not miss the hearing. The court only has to stay the case or adjust the lease when someone asks, and the asking happens inside the case.
- Tell the court in writing that the servicemember is in military service, and ask for a stay, or an adjustment of the lease, under 50 U.S.C. 3951(b)(1). Say how military service has materially affected the servicemember's ability to pay the agreed rent.
- Attach the proof. Your orders, and whatever shows the change: pay statements from before and after, a deployment date, a move. If the rent can be paid going forward, ask the court about an allotment from the servicemember's pay under (d).
- Call your installation legal assistance office. Ask whether you qualify for its free help.
- If the landlord locks you out or removes your belongings without a court order, write down what happened and when, and tell legal assistance. Knowingly taking part in that is a misdemeanor under 3951(c).
Questions people ask
Is the SCRA eviction limit still $2,400?
No. $2,400 is the 2003 starting figure in the statute. For 2026 the limit is $10,542.60 a month.
Does it protect my spouse and children?
The section covers "the dependents of a servicemember" as well as the servicemember, during the servicemember's military service. This section does not define "dependents", so if you are unsure whether you count, ask legal assistance.
Is the stay always 90 days?
No. Ninety days is the default "unless in the opinion of the court, justice and equity require a longer or shorter period of time". The court can also adjust the lease instead of staying the case.
Can the court still evict me?
Yes. The section requires a court order; it does not forbid one. What it gives you is a stay or an adjusted lease, if a request is made and military service has materially affected the servicemember's ability to pay the agreed rent.
What if my rent is over the limit?
Then 3951 does not apply to you. Your state's eviction law may, and so may other parts of the SCRA. Your installation legal assistance office can tell you which.
Sources
The statute was read at the U.S. Government Publishing Office: 50 U.S.C. 3951, U.S. Code 2024 Edition. That document is current through 6 January 2025 according to its own metadata, so an amendment enacted after that date would not appear in it. The 2026 rent limit was read in the notice itself: Notice of Publication of Housing Price Inflation Adjustment, 91 FR 11527, published 10 March 2026, FR Doc. 2026-04689. Both were checked on 21 September 2026.