THE LEAST POPULAR LANDLORD IN UTAH

Unlike last December, the focus of the Kevin Dexter clan's calendar countdown isn't Christmas. Instead, the soldier's family must prepare for Monday — the day they must vacate their home because they cannot afford a $450-per-month rent increase...

Word of the family's plight spread after a story was published Friday in the Deseret Morning News. Since the front-page story appeared, the family has been flooded with offers from people who have reacted as if Uncle Sam requested help and pointed directly at them.

Hundreds of dollars have been sent, either directly to Dexter's wife, Linda, or to an account set up at a credit union. Two attorneys said they'd take her case for free. Two real-estate agents also offered their services at no cost.

One man said he'd pay all the family bills until Staff Sgt. Kevin Dexter returns home in the summer. Volunteers also pledged to provide Christmas gifts for the family of six.

And, Linda Dexter said, a few well-meaning albeit misguided supporters even offered to beat up the landlord...

"We thought we were protected, and we're not," Dexter said. "This is supposed to be illegal."

The Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act of 1940 requires all court actions — including evictions — to be delayed until the soldier is home and discharged. The act stipulates that protection exists if the rent is $1,200 or less per month.


But then I stumbled on to this story in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Members of the armed forces will get new legal protections in dealing with landlords, creditors and insurers under legislation that the House passed yesterday and sent to President Bush.

Service members permanently sent to new duty stations or deployed for at least 90 days could terminate housing leases without penalty. Active-duty personnel and National Guard and Reserve members deployed overseas or called up for at least 180 days also could terminate car leases without penalty.

Their families living in dwellings with rents up to $2,400 a month could not be evicted for nonpayment without a court order, as long as the service member is deployed away from home. Now, only those military families with monthly rents up to $1,200 enjoy that benefit.