What to do if we need more time in out rental that’s been foreclosed on?
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What to do if we need more time in out rental that’s been foreclosed on?
My family and I are being evicted. We were renting this house and the owner lost it. The bank and their legal office offered me money to move in 2 weeks or 90 days and no money. We picked to stay the 90 days. The 90 days expire in about 2 weeks. The property that we found won’t be ready till February 20. They won’t allow us to stay or rent the property until then. Is there any way we can stay and not hurt my credit with an eviction
Asked on January 25, 2012 under Real Estate Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
There may be no way to stay additional time. When a property is foreclosed upon, the landlord loses all legal right to it; that means that he can no longer provide possesion, which cuts off the lease. It used to be, you could have been made to leave immediately--getting up to 90 days is actually the result of legislation passed during the financial crises to help people in your situation.
Depending on what it is being done with the property and with the nature of your rental, it is *possible* they may have give you more time. If you had a written lease which was not for a month-to-month tenancy; the lease term would have not expired before the end of the 90 days (that is, there's still additional time on it); and whomever bought the house in foreclosure is not planning on living there, you should be given until the end of this current written lease. On the other hand, if whomever is buying it is planning on living there, or you either had no written lease or a written month-to-month lease, or your lease would have expired before the end of the 90 days, then they would not need to give you more time.
As you can see, there is one set of facts (written lease which is not month-to-month; lease not over before end of 90 days; buyer not moving into house) which could give you extra time. If this situation applies, you could contact the bank and inform them that you have a lease until a certain date and are entitled to possession until then; if the bank will not voluntarily agree, you would have to bring a legal action to vindicate your rights. You would go to court and seek "emergent relief," or a temporary restraining order followed by an injunction, ordering the bank or new owner to give you more time; if you need to go to court, if at all possible, get an attorney to help you.
To see more about your potential rights, look up the "Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009." Good luck.
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