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IMPORTANT PLEASE READ: The Federal Law, Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act, expired and is no longer valid as of December 31, 2014.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

  • I rented a property and signed the lease april 2012. I moved in june 2012, I recieved notice the property was going to be sold in auction in october, 2012. can i recover my deposit
  • I BOUGHT A NEW HOUSE A YEAR AGO AND KEPT THE OLD HOUSE THAT I HAD FOR 13 YRS AS A RENTAL PROPERTY SINCE THE LOAN BALANCE WAS LESS THAN THE VALUE. THE TENATS DEFAULTED ON THE MORTGAGE AND I WAS UNABLE TO BRING IT CURRENT. IT IS CURRENLY GOING UNDER FORCLOUSE. MY QUESTION IS- CAN THE BANK COME AFTER ME SINCE IT WAS NOT MY PRIMARY RESIDENCE? I NEVER PULLED CASH OUT BUT I DID REFINANCE A FEW TIMES AND PAID OFF OTHER SMALLER LOANS AND CREDIT CARD YEARS AGO.
  • The house we rent is in foreclosure. Are we obligated to stay in the house for the 90 days allowed or can we move as soon as we find a new place to live? Can the landlord hold us to the terms of the lease even though the house is in foreclosure now? Can he take us to court if we move out prior to the end of the lease?
  • My home which is worth 230,000 was sold in a trustee sale for 12,753.85. I found out the 1st trustee has the same last name as the company president of the company that bought the property. Before the sale a substitute trustee took over. I believe this sale was done with an Irregularity in conduct and an Inadequate sales price. What recourse do I have. Time is of the essence. No money for an attorney. Thanks
  • CAN A BANK FORCLOSE A HOME IN THE STATE OF ARIZONA WITH THERE BEING NO CHAIN OF CORPORATE TITLE TRANSFER?
  • Can a second (junior) mortgage Deed of trust lienholder obtain a deficiency judgment against me. The Arizona single family home foreclosed Trustee sale on September 2nd, 2014. They are just now trying to get a hold of me. There is no way I can even afford to pay. Thank you
  • My husband recently lost his job after working for the company for 10 years they let him go, we couldn’t afford the payment on the house with my pay so we contacted our mortgage they made partial payment plan for us for 12months so we don’t loose our home after some long time of searching for job my husband and used up all the credit cards so we couldn’t pay them all of so we filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy after that my husband found a job and we contacted our WF mortgage loan to start the payment process next thing i know ee got motion filed with the court to forclose our home what should
  • My home was in the middle of probate when they sold it so prior to bank sold it to company and because there wasn't somebody legally responsible for the loan hence I had to probate it before anybody at company would discuss it with me, and they granted me executorship a week after the sale. I then had a stroke and was in hospital, court papers scheduled in a few days to go to court. I want to keep my house of 17years what can I do? Please help fast. I am a widower of a vet and on disability as well.
  • 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?
  • My house was due for a short sale. We had a buyer with good faith money down. The loan servicing company let the time frame lapse, did not respond to my realtor's requests, and sold the loan service subsidiary to Goldman Sachs the week after,and they took it to foreclosure. Now I have a lawyer for the HOA hounding me for $4000. The bank that owns my former property just listed it again for the price we ( my realtor and myself ) had it sold for originally. What do I do about the HOA problem? This was in Arizona. I am now living in Colorado.

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LINKS

Arizona Housing Information

HUD in Arizona

Federal Consumer Action Handbook Online

Pima County Courts Self Service Center

Arizona 2-1-1

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