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IMPORTANT PLEASE READ: The Federal Law, Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act, expired and is no longer valid as of December 31, 2014.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

  • When does a foreclosure come off a credit report? Seven years from the date the loan went into foreclosure, from the date of last payment or from the date of the sale at auction?
  • We own a unit in a condo complex that is being foreclosed upon as a whole. We need to know if we have any recourse for the loss of our investment and how this will affect our credit rating.
  • The bank is foreclosing on a home that I am on the loan, however in our divorce decree there is a deed stating that I am not to get any profits and or be held responsible for the debts of the home, if he files bankruptcy will I have to do the same to keep the bank from coming after me?
  • I agreed to purchase a home I believed was owned free and clear by the owner with owner financing. I later learned the owner did not own the home free and clear, and when costly repairs come up he refused to help defray the costs. Was I protected under the tenant landlord act and can he foreclose as he is threatening? I have already moved out and found a new place to live.
  • We are currently renting a home that is being foreclosed on. A realtor is telling me to allow him to put a safe lock on the door and show the home. What are my rights? He claims to work for the trustee.
  • My father took out a reverse mortgage. The house appraised @ $320k, they wrote him a line of credit for $425. Thankfully he didn't use all of this money. Is this considered preditory?
  • We lost our home a year and a half ago through foreclosure. They had strung us a long promissing to help, we didn't know there was other help out there. Is there a way to get the home back (it's not sold), is there any type of assistance for people who are already "homeless" We got a notice for settlement payment - is this our only option for assistance?
  • I am currently in a Ch 13 bankruptcy. My home was in my bk plan. Currently my pre and post petition payments are current. However my mortgage servicer continues to place the payments made in a reserve account for several days before applying the monthly payment. My loan servicer also adds additional fees to my monthly statement such as property preserv fee? My home was in foreclosure but since it is current on pre and post petition payments, my servicer still has not canceled the trustee sale, they just continue to move the date forward. I filed pro se and everything else has been fine.
  • I have attempted to sell the property in AZ for a year and 6 months. Since 1/2 of this time was applied to a short sale I had 3 Realtors. I had a first mortgage and a second home equity. The second refuse to cooperate the last realtor pulled out my foreclosure is set for Nov. can the equity loan come after me for the money? Am I protected by the Anti deficiency Laws?
  • We're renting a home and have 9 months left in our 12 month lease. We just found out the property foreclosed and the home sold. We've been offered money to leave in 30 days. We are protected under the Protecting Tenants in Foreclosure Act, and can stay for the duration of our lease. We are willing to leave in 60-90 days, to give us time to find another rental. If the PTFA expires on 12/31/14 are we still protected on 1/1/15? Can they give us more time but then come back on Jan. 1st and evict us? Are we protected past the expiration of the act because we signed our lease before the foreclosure?

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