Saturday, May 13, 2017

Foreclosures and Tenants Rights

The National Housing Law Project wrote that during the 2008 foreclosure crisis, “there [were] estimates that nationwide as many as 40% of the families that face eviction due to foreclosure are renters…The consequences for tenants residing in properties that have been foreclosed upon are often dramatic and may include lease termination, eviction without proper notice or a reason other than the unit has been foreclosed upon, the loss of the tenant’s security deposit, deterioration of property conditions and utility shutoffs. Tenants also face costs of relocation, finding a new home, possible loss of a Section 8 voucher or other rental assistance, an eviction complaint which may affect their credit or the ability to lease another unit, and possible disruption of education, employment, medical treatment and social support networks.”

Congress responded to the crisis by enacting The Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (PTFA), which was effective May 20, 2009 and included in the Dodd-Frank regulations. The PTFA expired in 2014, but Congress extended these protections to 2015. In February 2017, President Trump signed an executive order to ease Dodd-Frank regulations. We will have to wait and see how these federal regulations are revised.

California took the lead to protect homeowners and tenants by enacting The California Homeowner Bill of Rights (CA HBOR) on January 1, 2013 to ensure that there were guarantees of basic fairness and transparency during the foreclosure process. This law requires buyers of foreclosed homes to give tenants at least 90 days before beginning eviction proceedings. Moreover, just cause eviction ordinances may provide added protections to tenants. If the tenant had a fixed-term lease prior to transfer of title at the foreclosure sale, the new owner must honor the lease under most conditions.

The National Housing Law Project is based in San Francisco and offers free resources to non-profits and private attorneys who assist homeowners and tenants in foreclosure, fellowships to law students and new lawyers, and pro bono opportunities for attorneys.

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