As an Army veteran who has navigated the difficult transition home after deployment, I can’t imagine anything worse than returning from a tour of duty only to find a trespasser living in my home. Unfortunately, this is a reality for many. 

Anyone who has a friend or family member serving in uniform knows the unique challenges they deal with: long stretches away from home, frequent moves across the country, and near constant transitions. Those challenges leave their homes vulnerable to illegal trespassers, or squatters. This is unacceptable, which is why today I introduced the Service Member Residence Protection Act.

While squatters' laws vary by state, they generally allow trespassers to claim ownership of a property if it is simply open, unoccupied, and their stay is continuous. On the other hand,  removing a squatter requires legal intervention—something that’s difficult if not impossible to do during deployment. This bill amends the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act (SCRA) to provide critical housing security and financial protection while ensuring service members are not burdened with legal obstacles when reclaiming their homes.

The men and women in uniform who sacrifice everything to protect our country deserve the same protection for their homes while they risk their lives to defend our freedom. This commonsense legislation ensures that active-duty military personnel won’t have to endure the stressful and costly process of evicting trespassers when they return home.