what rights do I have if the property I am renting is being foreclosed on

[sfox61]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? florida

 

[JETX]

what rights do I have if the property I am renting is being foreclosed on

You have the 'right' to continue paying rent to the owner of the property.
You have the 'right' to continue living there until the court or the bank tells you that your tenancy is terminated.

 

[Cvillecpm]

This is FEDERAL law and many states have also enacted state laws....

PROTECTING TENANTS AT FORECLOSURE ACT OF 2009

Effective May 20, 2009, the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009 extends a range of protections to tenants in foreclosed properties.

In brief, under the new legislation, all tenants must get a 90 day notice prior to eviction due to foreclosure. In addition (with some exceptions) tenants who have leases can continue to live in their homes until the end of the term of their lease.

The rights of Section 8 tenants are also protected because the new owner at foreclosure must accept both the tenant's lease and the housing assistance payment (HAP) contract.

RELATED RESOURCES

The National Housing Law Project (NHLP) has prepared materials that will help housing counseling agencies understand the provisions and help tenants exercise their new rights under this law. NHLP's materials include sample letters that tenants can use to inform their landlords, as well as sample letters advocates can use to inform the courts and public housing authorities.

The NHLP materials are available on their homepage: NLIHC: Renters in Foreclosure Toolkit

The NLIHC website also contains several other resources, including details of the new tenant protection provisions:

NLIHC: Renters in Foreclosure Toolkit
http://www.nlihc.org/doc/Memo-Renter-Protections-S-896.pdf
NLIHC: National Low Income Housing Coalition - Protections for Tenants in Foreclosed Properties Become Law

 

[JETX]

This is FEDERAL law and many states have also enacted state laws....

Wow... that would really be nice... if it were only true!!!

That 'Act' you describe was really House Bill 1247 and it never made it out of committee...

The REAL bill you should have referenced is (Senate) S.896, known as the 'Preventing Mortgage Foreclosures and Enhancing Mortgage Credit' bill. It was signed by Obama on 5/20/09 and became 'Public Law 111-22'.
Though it does provide some similar protections, it is different than the one you referred to.

The full text can be found online at:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ022.111.pdf

 

[CA LL]

JETX..the post above DOES link to correct Federal bill (S896) and Section VII of THAT bill is entitled TITLE VII—Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act. So above post was CORRECT information.

 

[JETX]

JETX..the post above DOES link to correct Federal bill (S896) and Section VII of THAT bill is entitled TITLE VII—Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act. So above post was CORRECT information.

There might have been some obscure link within the links you provided... but the actually cite you gave was for just a House of Representatives BILL.

It never (at least not yet) actually became law. In fact, no such 'PROTECTING TENANTS AT FORECLOSURE ACT OF 2009' exists in law.

There are 100's of bills introduced every year.... and most of them (thankfully!!) never make it out of committee.

 

[CA LL]

JETX..I did not post the first reply but was merely pointing out that WITHIN S896 which the poster DID link to is a TITLE VII which IS entitled exactly what was stated. It is WITHIN the Senate bill you noted 896. READ S896 TITLE VII. You can even view S896 within the link posted by the other poster above. I'm quite familiar with the process by the way : )

If you wish to read the full text of the enrolled version of S896 (including TITLE VII--PROTECTING TENANTS AT FORECLOSURE ACT) here ya go:

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s111-896

 

[Cvillecpm]

I posted the condensed verision from the FEDERAL LAW passed/signed May, 2009...it is contained in a much longer bill and is hard to find within that bill.

The LAW is in EFFECT and OP needs to print the portion and send a copy to any bank or enforcement officer that serves or attempts to serve any eviction notice on him as the owner continues in foreclosure.

 

[DeenaCA]

There is, in fact, a Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act. It's Title VII of the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009, enacted 5/20/09: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:s896enr.txt.pdf. The tenant protection act starts on page 29 of the .pdf document.

The provisions Cville cited are correct: minimum 90 days notice, with protection through the end of the lease term unless the new owner will occupy the property (in whuch case the 90 day notice requirement applies). The new law applies to foreclosures on or after 5/20/09.

 

[CourtClerk]

There is, in fact, a Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act. It's Title VII of the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009, enacted 5/20/09: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:s896enr.txt.pdf. The tenant protection act starts on page 29 of the .pdf document.

The provisions Cville cited are correct: minimum 90 days notice, with protection through the end of the lease term unless the new owner will occupy the property (in whuch case the 90 day notice requirement applies). The new law applies to foreclosures on or after 5/20/09.

Ssshhhh... don't say anything else, because JetX is correct. Cville quoted the WRONG bill, and you cosigned all her wrongness, for the sake of chiming in to have absolutely nothing to say. Both of you should have quoted what because LAW, not something where you can find something that became law inside of it. If the posters came here for advice, you think they are going to read a bill inside of a bill to find the RIGHT answer???

Now gnu-bee... go sit down somewhere

 

[DeenaCA]

What's most useful to the poster is probably the link to NLIHC's Renters in Foreclosure Toolkit in post #3.

This isn't a bill that never made it out of committee, it's federal law. Here's the White House press release: The White House - Press Office - Reforms for American Homeowners and Consumers: President Obama Signs the Helping Families Save their Homes Act and the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act

Here's an excerpt from the press release:
Establishes protections for renters living in foreclosed homes: One of the often overlooked problems in the foreclosure crisis has been the eviction of renters in good standing, through no fault of their own, from properties in foreclosure. To address the problem of these tenants being forced out of their homes with little or no notice, this legislation will require that in the event of foreclosure, existing leases for renters are honored, except in the case of month-to-month leases or owner occupants foreclosing in which cases a minimum of 90 days notice will be required. Parallel protections are put in place for Section 8 tenants.

 

[CourtClerk]

What's most useful to the poster is probably the link to NLIHC's Renters in Foreclosure Toolkit in post #3.

This isn't a bill that never made it out of committee, it's federal law. Here's the White House press release: The White House - Press Office - Reforms for American Homeowners and Consumers: President Obama Signs the Helping Families Save their Homes Act and the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act

Here's an excerpt from the press release:
Establishes protections for renters living in foreclosed homes: One of the often overlooked problems in the foreclosure crisis has been the eviction of renters in good standing, through no fault of their own, from properties in foreclosure. To address the problem of these tenants being forced out of their homes with little or no notice, this legislation will require that in the event of foreclosure, existing leases for renters are honored, except in the case of month-to-month leases or owner occupants foreclosing in which cases a minimum of 90 days notice will be required. Parallel protections are put in place for Section 8 tenants.

Geez Louise... the bill that made is out of committee was the SENATE bill, not the HOUSE bill. If you don't know the difference, I'm sorry for you. Perhaps you can go back and take a government class or something.

 

[DeenaCA]

The House bill was cited, incorrectly, only in post #4. All of the other references (mine and others) were to S 896, which was enacted. The links in post #3 lead to a set of very useful tools for renters, and it would be a shame if posters/searchers were misled by the confusion in this thread.

For renters in foreclosed properties who may search here, I wanted to clear up the incorrect information posted above:

"There might have been some obscure link within the links you provided... but the actually cite you gave was for just a House of Representatives BILL.

It never (at least not yet) actually became law. In fact, no such 'PROTECTING TENANTS AT FORECLOSURE ACT OF 2009' exists in law.

There are 100's of bills introduced every year.... and most of them (thankfully!!) never make it out of committee."​

This is a law, not a bill, and it is named the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act, and it is Title VII of the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009. There is a lot of useful information for tenants on NLIHC's website, as noted in post #3.

 

[CA LL]

Hmm..I guess my link direct to the actual text of the law passed, the statement that the TITLE VII WAS the above referenced part of it wasn't "enough"???

 

[Cvillecpm]

OK * OK * Let's try this from the Nolo Press website......


Renters in Foreclosed Properties No Longer Lose Their Leases

Before May 20, 2009, most renters lost their leases upon foreclosure. The rule in most states was that if the mortgage was recorded before the lease was signed, a foreclosure wiped out the lease (this rule is known as “first in time, first in right”). Because most leases last no longer than a year, it was all too common for the mortgage to predate the lease and destroy it upon foreclosure.

These rules changed dramatically on May 20, 2009, when President Obama signed the "Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009." This legislation provided that leases would survive a foreclosure -- meaning the tenant could stay at least until the end of the lease, and that month-to-month tenants would be entitled to 90 days' notice before having to move out (this notice period is longer than any state's non-foreclosure notice period, a real boon to tenants).

An exception was carved out for the buyer who intends to live on the property -- this buyer may terminate a lease with 90 days' notice. Importantly, the law provides that any state legislation that is more generous to tenants will not be preempted by the federal law. These protections apply to Section 8 tenants, too.

Importantly, tenants who live in cities with rent control “just cause” eviction protection are also protected from terminations at the hands of an acquiring bank or new owner. These tenants can rely on their ordinance's list of allowable, or "just causes," for termination. Because a change of ownership, without more, does not justify a termination, the fact that the change occurred through foreclosure will not justify a termination.