Truemors
California Law Protects Tenants from Foreclosure 
In the unending saga of he foreclosure crisis, more and more tenants are becoming innocent victims. Even though they have no mortgage payments to worry about, they still lose their homes to foreclosure. Of course, when this happens, the lives of these tenants are seriously disrupted.
Good thing that California government official have finally taken notice of the plight of these tenants and proposed a bill that will protect them from harassments and sudden eviction due to foreclosure.
According to the existing legislation governing tenant-landlord agreement, the tenants are allowed to enjoy a 30-day notice before being evicted. The same law prohibits the landlords from cutting utility services and also changing the security locks.
The proposed Assembly Bill 2586 will clarify the other provisions of the old legislation that tackles tenant-landlord relationship in the event of foreclosure. For example, it will require the landlord to transfer the security deposit to the tenants or the new owner of the property, which in this case is the bank or lender. If the previous landlord fails to do this, the new owner is not allowed to require a new security deposit. Other provisions of the proposed bill tackle the issues of utilities, notices and rent adjustments.
Although the proposed bill in general will not be able to protect the tenants from being evicted due to foreclosure, it will somehow protect their rights. If you are renting out a place, it will probably be wise for you to check your rental agreement. In any case, you can always ask your landlord regarding policies about foreclosure-related evictions.
The foreclosure crisis has already left millions of Americans homeless and more are expected until next year. According to the latest data gathered by RealtyTrac, foreclosure rate nationwide jumped 55 percent from last year, clearly showing that the market has yet to hit rock bottom.
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (1)
at 22:02 on September 15th, 2008
Unfortunately, you are wrong. Tenants now (since July) have had the right to a 60-days' notice terminating their tenancy after a foreclosure sale. In addition tenants should now be notified of the foreclosure sale and their right to 60 days notice by the lender. (Both these were part of SB 1137, signed into law by the Governor in July.) Tenants who live in rent-controlled jurisdictions should call the local rent board or a tenants' organization, since they may have additional protections.
What AB 2586 does is to provide a standard procedure for tenants whose landlords (whether the lender or not) have tried to force them out by failing to pay utility charges. It allows the tenant or tenants to establish service in their names without having to pay the landlord arrears--and it allows tenants to deduct any utility payment from their rent. It also makes clear that a foreclosing lender must return the tenants' security deposits.