New Tenant Rights In Foreclosures...
WASHINGTON - Aug. 19, 2009 - On May 20, 2009, the "Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009," P.L. 111-22, was
signed into law. Title VII of the law, the "Protecting Tenants at
Foreclosure Act," included provisions to protect to tenants faced with
eviction if their rented property goes through foreclosure. The provisions took
effect May 20, 2009, and expire on Dec. 30, 2012.
The tenant protection provisions apply for any foreclosure on a "federally-related mortgage loan," or on any dwelling or
residential real property. Under the provisions, "any immediate successor
in interest" in a foreclosed property - including a bank that takes
title to a house after foreclosure - assumes it subject to the rights of
any bona fide tenant and certain notice requirements.
Under this law, tenants must receive notice at least 90 days before eviction.
Additionally, tenants must be able to stay in the residence until the end of
their lease, with two exceptions: (1) where the property is sold after
foreclosure to a purchaser who will occupy the property as their primary
residence, and, (2) where there is no lease (or where the lease is terminable
at will under state law). However, even when these exceptions apply, tenants
must still receive 90 days' notice before they may be evicted.
The legal protections apply only to "bona fide" tenants - meaning that the lessee is not the mortgagor or a child, spouse or parent of
the mortgagor; the lease is the product of an arm's-length transaction;
and the rent is not substantially less than fair market rent (unless a
government subsidy). Also, it does not affect the termination requirements of
any federal or state-subsidized tenancy, or of any stricter state law that
provides longer notice requirements or other additional tenant protections.
The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) advised national banks
to adopt policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the new tenant
protection provisions; and it will evaluate bank compliance.
Questions can be directed to the OCC. For more information, visit the webpage
at: http://www.occ.treas.gov/
Please contact Sheryl Jones at (321) 863-7824 if you need any further assistance. Sheryl is our Senior Property Manager at RE/MAX Elite, and is extremely knowledgeable in all aspects of Tenant and Landlord relationships.
Respectfully,
Justin Brown, CDPE
Broker/Owner
RE/MAX Elite
Posted at 04:21PM Aug 20, 2009 by RE/MAX ELITE in Real Estate | Comments[0]
