What rights do I have as a tenant in a home that has been sold at auction on 3/16/10 and new owners, a real estate company, have put a 3 day notice to quit? I heard about a law passed 5/2009 that gives bona fide tenants 90 days to move before new owners can start eviction process.
You don’t say what the three day notice says, but generally they are for non-payment of rent. You are correct that under the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009 your rental agreement survives the foreclosure and they must give you 90-days notice of terminating the rental agreement. If you are on a lease that does not expire for more than 90-days you are entitled to stay until the end of the lease. HOWEVER, all that is only true if you are still abiding by the terms of the lease or rental agreement. That means you must pay rent to the new owner. If you have not paid your rent, or are otherwise in default under the lease or rental agreement, they can evict you just as if they were the original owner and no foreclosure had happened.
Timothy McCormick
Libris Solutions – Dispute Resolution Services
1990 N. California Blvd., 8th Fl
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
In addition, there are some limitations based on the nature of the loan. Since the PTFA is a Federal law, there must be some minimal Federal involvement in the loan that was foreclosed or its beneficiary. If the lender is a private party or a small local partnership or something of that sort, rather than a national bank, FHA, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, it MIGHT successfully claim an exemption from the PTFA’s rules.
Bryan Whipple
Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law
P O Box 318
Tomales, CA 94971-0318