Foreclosure Article


WHAT IF I RENT A HOUSE THAT'S IN FORECLOSURE - The Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act

 The Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act

This law expired on December 31, 2014

 

IMPORTANT PLEASE READ: The Federal Law, Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act, expired and is no longer valid as of December 31, 2014. While there were some attempts in the House to revive this law in 2015 none have been successful. Arizona State Law, A.R.S § 33-1331, gives tenants of foreclosed properties some limited protections; information about these protections can be found in this article. This article remains on AZLawHelp.org purely for historical value for those interested in how the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act operated from 2009 through 2014.

There are legal protections for tenants renting a house that is in or goes into foreclosure. The Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (PTFA) was passed by Congress signed into law by the President Obama in 2009; subsequently the law was extended in 2010. The PTFA expired on December 31, 2014. The PTFA, depending on the facts in a particular situation, requires that renters in foreclosed homes be allowed to stay or given sufficient notice under the law.

  

Who qualifies for protection under the PTFA?

The tenant protection provisions apply in the case of any foreclosure on a “federally related mortgage loan” or on any dwelling or residential real property. The tenant must also be “bona fide.” A lease or tenancy is “bona fide” only if:

  1. The mortgagor or a child, spouse, or parent of the mortgagor under the contract is not the tenant;

  2. The lease or tenancy was the product of an arm’s-length transaction; and

  3. The lease or tenancy requires the receipt of rent that is not substantially less than fair market rent or the rent is reduced or subsidized due to a federal, state, or local subsidy.

In other words the lease must be made with another person and not with oneself and the rent payments must be a fair amount for the property that is not supplemented by the government.

  

When do renters in foreclosed homes get to stay and when do they have to leave?

Renters Get to Stay IF:

Renters get to stay for the duration of the lease, if all of the following requirements are met:

  1. There is a valid lease (not the end of the lease term),

  2. The lease was signed before receiving notice of foreclosure (whether judicial foreclosure or trustee sale), and

  3. The new owner does not intend to occupy the property as a primary residence.

Renters Cannot Stay But Must Be Given Notice IF:

In most other situations, the renters will have to leave, once the foreclosure is complete, and upon receiving 90 days notice from the new owner. The common situations where a renter will have to vacate after the foreclosure upon receiving notice are:

  • Renters must vacate if there is a valid lease and they had notice of foreclosure before signing the lease; or

  • Renters must vacate if there is a valid lease, and even if there was no notice of foreclosure but the new owner intends to occupy the property as a primary residence; or

  • Renters must vacate if there is no valid lease, including where a lease expires and the renter is paying month-to-month. 

Why does the law end December 31, 2014?

The law has what is called a sunset provision, meaning it has an expiration date. The original date was extended in the “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act”, so that the law will be repealed on December 31. 2014. When laws are written, the legislative body writing the law may set a date of when that law will end, referred to as a “sunset” clause or provision (Note: Not all laws have sunset provisions, it is not required). The PTFA is a federal law, Congress would have to authorize and extension or make the law permanent and the President would have to sign it into law.

 

 

Source:  See 12 U.S.C. 5220 or search the US Code online with the US House of Representatives website. For additional information see the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau website.


Comments:

QUESTIONS

  • My father passed away 1/16/2015. His is the only name on his home's deed. There is a reverse mortgage on the house and what is currently owed on the mortgage is more than the house is worth. My name is not on the deed and I don't plan on going to probate to get control of the house. The mortgage company is starting foreclosure. My question: is the estate, and me personally as the executor of the will, legally obligated maintain the homeowners insurance policy until the house is sold at the foreclosure auction which could take 1 to 2 years?
  • In 07-09-2012 my home was foreclosed and sold. because of lost job and bad health, I could not make payments. I had a 80/20 loan. I have read info on the Anti- Deficiency (ARS 33-814). My question is do I owe on the 20 percent lone? I have not heard from that lender?
  • I relocated to AZ and still have a house in Nevada. I can no longer make both house payments and am considering letting my house in NV foreclosing or short sale. Not sure what tax liabilities or other repercussions may he entailed.
  • We hired a lawyer to file court papers to stop foreclosure. He did not file in time but He said he called bank and they said they would wait 1 more week to foreclose because our lawyer needed more time. The bank did not wait and foreclosed anyways (of course) our lawyer did not file proper paper work for that he just called the bank and they said ok Now we are losing our house and don't know who to get help from. We have paid thousands to these lawyers and are waiting to see if appeals court will take our case. We did what were suppose to do they did not Have lived here 31yrs. who can help
  • Should I be held responsible for the HELOC on my house held by a different bank than my first mortgage that was foreclosed upon?
  • What are home owners liabilities during foreclosure
  • I understand that in Arizona, deficiency judgements cannot be sought on purchase money loans, but what are the rules for second loans?
  • my home was auctioned in a forclosue on 02/28/14....I am now being evicted by monday.....where is the 70000 equity in my home ?
  • we are currently listed as owner's to a mortgage but signed transfer of property- deed papers to an investor of whom we have been making monthly payments to. We have been informed by the mortgage that our payments have not been submitted and that we will soon be in foreclosure. What can we do? This investor promised to assume the mortage as well as the property but really only filed tranfer of property and continues to collect our money, of which has been steady each month.
  • Need mediator immediately= have been fruitlessly looking with no success . HOA looking to foreclose on me..........illegal fines never served to me= I am sure you know the scenario as it is very common now a days. Senior on disability and they go after us as they know we have no one to help us due to finances. If you know of ANYONE please let me know......602-705-3326 So far they have stolen 2 peoples homes that were disabled= one had sold her income property to pay them off then they continued to harass her & she had a stroke. Another women ended up on o2 due to black mold from roof leak th

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