The Tenant Act...renting a home that is in foreclosure

Here’s the gist: The Tenanct Act is a federal law that gives renters living in a house that gets foreclosed on 90 days before they can be evicted. If there is a bona fide, arms-length lease, AND THE LEASE WAS IN PLACE PRIOR TO THE FORECLOSURE ACTION BEING FILED, the lender or investor, or its servicer intermediary, cannot evict until the lease is expired or the renter breaks the lease.

To educate renters about the law, the Ombudsman for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), released a brief PSA on YouTube explaining the basics. Check it out below: (you can tell it is a govt. produced product...they spelled YOUR as 'yor'  : )



Effective May 20th, tenants with a “bona fide” lease that was entered into before notice of foreclosure can remain in a foreclosed home until the end of their lease, unless the bank sells the property to someone who intends to make it his/her primary residence. If the new owner intends to occupy the home, they are still required to give 90-days notice to the tenant prior to eviction. If the tenant does not have a lease (month-to-month) or current state law allows the lease to be terminated at will, there is still a 90-day notice requirement prior to eviction. Notice must be provided by the “immediate successor in interest” which, in most cases, would be the bank or the new owner.

A “bona fide” lease is defined in the law as one that:

(1) the mortgagor or the child, spouse, or parent of the mortgagor under the contract is not the tenant;

(2) the lease or tenancy was the result of an arms-length transaction; and

(3) the lease or tenancy requires the receipt of rent that is not substantially less than fair market rent for the property or the unit's rent is reduced or subsidized due to a Federal, State, or local subsidy.
 
Click HERE to read the actual legislation.
 
As always, give me a call if you have any questions or comments regarding anything we blog about.
561-602-1258
 
Steve