SEATTLE – As part of an ongoing effort to protect military members’ legal rights to fair housing, Attorney General Nick Brown announced that Olympic Management Company has agreed to pay more than $46,000 in refunds and interest to 22 service members who were unfairly charged fees when they terminated their leases early due to deployment or other military orders.

Washington state law provides robust protections to service members through the Service Members’ Civil Relief Act (SCRA). Among other things, the law bars landlords from charging early lease termination fees or clawing back rent concessions when an active-duty service member is deployed, changes station, or retires.

“Members of the military must be ready to deploy at any moment. They should not have to worry about unfair housing fees when they’re simply trying to serve our country,” said Brown, who began his legal career in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps, protecting soldiers and their families from fraud. “That’s why it’s of utmost importance to hold property managers accountable under the law and make sure service members get the financial relief they deserve.”

Olympic Management Company manages dozens of apartment complexes in multiple counties in Western Washington and is based in Fife.

Investigation origins

The investigation began with a complaint filed in March by U.S. Army Captain Steven Broyles, who was stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and lived at Olympic Management Company’s Switchback Apartments in Lacey.

Broyles left active-duty service due to a medical retirement and terminated his lease early under provisions of the SCRA. Olympic then told him he would have to pay back a free month’s rent totaling $2,085 that he had received as a rent concession when he signed a 12-month lease.

Knowing that the charge likely violated the law, he contacted the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) Consumer Protection Division and sent a copy of the company’s standard form lease, which included a claw-back provision that violated the federal and state SCRAs.

An assistant attorney general in the Consumer Protection Division sent a cease and desist letter to Olympic, demanding that the company stop using the illegal lease provision and requesting information about other potentially affected service members.

“Other service members were in the same boat. I’m glad that my fellow service members and I will not be taken advantage of,” Broyles said. “I was very happy that the Attorney General’s Office was able to help out.”

“We’re grateful to Olympic for acting swiftly and thoroughly to address our concerns,” Brown said. “The company’s cooperation allowed us to reach this resolution in a very short time. This is how the law was intended to work.”

Two of the service members have already received refunds. After receiving the total payment from Olympic, the AGO is working to distribute refunds and interest, ranging from $23.11 to $3,649, to the 20 other service members who were improperly charged for early lease terminations.

Olympic has also agreed to pay $10,000 to the state for costs and attorney fees that can be used for future enforcement of the SCRA.

If you think your rights under the SCRA may have been violated, you should contact your nearest Armed Forces Legal Assistance Program office.

In 2014, the state legislature granted the AGO authority to enforce SCRA laws in support of Washington's military families. Individuals concerned their SCRA rights may have been violated should also file a consumer complaint.

Assistant Attorney General John Nelson, Paralegal Miranda Marti, and Legal Assistant Chris Kiefer worked on the case for Washington state.

The resolution with Olympic can be found here.

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