What are the tenants rights in a foreclosed home?
Question Details: Hello, I was opening my mail yesterday and I accidentally opened a letter to my landlord which was weird because we don't usually get his mail. The letter stated that the home we are currently renting is going to be foreclosed on September 1st. We contacted the landlord because there are two letters but he hasn't responded. What are our rights in Georgia? Do we still need to pay rent to him next month? Is our lease breached because of this? Do we need to put the rent in escrow? Wil we be able to get our deposit back? Please help!
You are still required to pay rent to the landlord until he is no longer the legal owner. This occurs when title passes to a buyer at the foreclosure sale. The landlord's financial problems have no impact on your legal obligation to fulfill the terms of your lease. If you do not pay your rent you can be evicted, taken to small claims for the money you owe, and have your credit report affected. You should be aware that pursuant to federal law, a lender who takes possession of a property or a new owner who buys the building at auction has to let a tenant stay for 90 days from the sale or the remainder of their old lease, whichever period is longer. The rules are a bit different if someone is buying the property to live in; in that case, they can terminate a lease with 90 days notice. (Note: That is 90 days from the sale date. You'll have to find out when that will be from the lender or whoever is listed on the notice of civil action. So you have at least 3 months plus.) Additionally, with respect to your security deposit, see if your landlord will let you apply it to this month's rent. Again, stay on top of when the sale date is, after that you can stop paying your landlord. The bank should send you notice of this also.
