On May 20, 2009 President Obama signed protecting tenants at foreclosure act.
The Act provides significant new protections for tenants in foreclosed properties, including a 90-day notice requirement and the right to remain for the term of the lease in most cases.
Specifically, the PTFA requires that the immediate successor in interest at foreclosure (1) Provide bona fide tenants with 90 days notice prior to eviction, and (2) Allow bona fide tenants with leases entered into prior to the foreclosure sale to occupy the property until the end of the lease term. (The lease can be terminated on 90 days notice if the unit is sold to a purchaser who will occupy the property.) In the case of an owner who is an immediate successor in interest to a property occupied by a tenant with a section 8 voucher, the owner takes the property subject to both the section 8 lease and the housing assistance payment contract, except in the case where the owner will occupy the unit as a primary residence.
(source) http://forum.housingpolicy.org/group/neighborhoodstabilization/forum/topics/live-at-the-forum-with
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
Now that is actually a smart thing to do compared to some other things this government has done. Not only will tenants be protected, but the homes may actually show better than if they are vacant with no utilities.
I am with you Sam. Finally tenants are going to be protected after they get screwed by paying their rent and the owners dont pay the mortgage. I am in property management and it is very hard to have to explain to tenants when they get a notice posted on their door.
Another significant act provided by the Obama Administration on protecting the rights of the tenants. It is the right thing to do by this act tenants will do have enough time to pay or to find another home with that given grace period.
Does this apply to commercial tenants as well as residential? Overall a good bill to pass.
I think this new foreclosure act would not protect the tenants if they do not pay rent at any time to their current owner.
I agree with the passing of this bill and find it very important as the number of renters/lessees will increase as foreclosure numbers grow. This debacle has cause a lot of home owners to become homeless, there is no reason the renters/lessees should have to deal with it as well.
Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act will really help tenants in getting the justice. Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act should be implemented well for the interest of Tenants at Foreclosure Act
I don’t know. I still don’t think it’s fair to the banks to allow “landlords” to keep collecting rent from tenants, while the “landlord” refuses to pay the mortgage.
It is good to see that the tenants are heading to some better times, at least something in their favor too.
Sounds like a good plan from Obama, that way, people would not be so alarmed about getting evicted since they have time to find something else, those 90 days could actually make the difference.
I have to agree with Sam’s comment, this Act will allow for better showings of properties. I think overall this is a good initiative, and helps protect homeowners or leasers a little bit, 90 days might be a little too long, but I think its fair in certain contexts.
Man that is great news. My wife told me about this the other day but i didnt think this was true. We wont tell her she was right
This is great news! Good job Obama for protecting the underdog!
Right to remain for the term of the lease is too liberal. What if the lease were 10 years?
Obama has done a great job by protecting foreclosure act. Protecting foreclosure act will surely beneficial to poor tenants.
Wow! 90 days? That is alot of time. For some people that’s way to long but for families that have fallen on hard times not enough. Its hard to find a middle ground here.
I watched a show called “The Vanguard” it’s a news show, and it did a piece on Foreclosures. They were going around with the people that did foreclosures in Las Vegas, and they were evicting tenants without them knowing the house was foreclosed on. It was soooo sad, I started crying. This was filmed about a year ago, and it’s nice that Obama put this law into effect, it has had a huge affect on renters. Great post!
The 90-day period will help a lot of tenants so they can make proper arrangements especially if they have kids in school and want to stay within the same school district at least they’ll have time to look around.
I am astounded that this wasn’t implemented until now. How can we expect tenants to respect their landlords and their guidelines to pay on time, etc. if the land lord isn’t holding up their end of the bargain? There has to be repercussions for actions that are harmful to others. Thanks Obama!
They were going around with the people that did foreclosures in Las Vegas, and they were evicting tenants without them knowing the house was foreclosed on. It was soooo sad, I started crying.thanks..
There will always be abuse of this law. Some tenants have paid the landlord and the tenants are completely unaware that the mortgage is being paid. Letting the tennants stay in the house for 60 days or so should make sure they don’t get screwed on a months rent or their deposit (if it was not put in escrow). Longer than 60 or 90 days could lead to some big, big problems.
I am rather late to this discussion but just wanted to ad my two cents that it certainly is nice to see the government looking out for the little guy/renter/consumer. Foreclosures are obviously on everyone’s mind but to be honest, it had never even occurred to me that renters would be affected. I am also curious, however, what happens with rent that is paid? If the tenant keeps paying rent, does it go to the landlord, or to whoever has taken over the property?