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IMPORTANT PLEASE READ: The Federal Law, Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act, expired and is no longer valid as of December 31, 2014.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

  • Bankruptcy was done 6/2010.My mortgage was included and at same time GMAC mortgage was going thru bankruptcy and Ocwen took over my payments which I continued to make. I was not aware that I was to reassume my loan nor advised by Ocwen or lawyer on this. Ocwen took payments and stopped reporting to credit bureau's.Tried Harp but was unable due to no show of a morgage.Struggling to pay 1400mo now.If let go can they report it with lack of show of mortgage.Can they be forced to report back paymt's.what options do I have before I'm forced out of home.Reach me at [email protected]
  • CAN A BANK FORCLOSE A HOME IN THE STATE OF ARIZONA WITH THERE BEING NO CHAIN OF CORPORATE TITLE TRANSFER?
  • Are the terms of a loan modification completely at the discretion of the lender or are there state or federal guidelines they must follow? Homeowners must become 90 days behind to get my mortgage company to consider modification. By this time, isn't my credit nearly as damaged as it would be with foreclosure?
  • 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?
  • I recently returned home from a 3 year prison sentence. The home i own was vacant and went into foreclosure. The mortgage company changed the locks, however i still own the home and plan on refinancing and keeping it. Am i allowed back into the house now, to live there since i still legally own it?
  • AZ dept of Housing sent us to you to file a complaint against Bank and Mortgage Company (Proper business names redacted).  How do we mail or email our five page complaint to you? (Personal information redacted)
  • Since 2010 I've lived at a home in mesa az. Recently my friend gave her home back to bank/ reverse mortgage and lien on it from IRS.She moved out to Missouri in july or first of aug 2013.I still am in the home whike she knew this she broke thru a window and hsrassed me.I called police they said she has a right to come in and change the locks.what legal rights do I have I pay utility bill at the resident.the mortgage company said it is in foreclosure so I need to know my rights
  • 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.
  • We are tenting a beach house that is not in foreclosure yet but the landlord is not making her payments. We signed a 1 year lease. How long before the house will go into foreclosure? And when it does how long before we need to get out?
  • Last year we fell behind on our home payments. We tried to work with the lender for months, Instead they set a foreclosure date. We only owe $265,000 plus the arrears on our home which is now appraising at $422k. We were forced to file Ch. 13 in order to stop the foreclosure and save our equity. My spouse now has a high income job offer out of state. We want to rent out our home instead of selling & dismiss the BK but still owe over $18k in arrears. With our bad credit due to the BK, what are our options for getting a loan to pay the arrears? Our home will rent for $2800 and our payment is 2k.

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