California State Law, Local Rent Control Law Gives Strong Protections For San Francisco Tenants In Foreclosed Homes

Buried in a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle is the following excerpt addressing the rights of San Francisco tenants in foreclosed homes that come within the scope of the city's rent control laws, as well as state law:

• Lenders who take back properties or investors who pick up foreclosed homes generally prefer the buildings empty, because that makes them easier to sell. Under San Francisco laws, however, those aren't grounds for an eviction in a rent-controlled building.(1)

• Unless tenants have stopped paying rent or otherwise have misbehaved, generally they can be forced out only when a new owner plans to demolish the property, has secured the necessary approvals to convert into it condominiums or plans to move in family members or him or herself, according to the city's rent ordinance. Even then, the owner typically must provide several months' notice and thousands of dollars in relocation costs.

• In addition, new owners - a bank, a trustee or otherwise - generally become liable for the same obligations of the previous landlord, said Robert Collins, deputy director of the San Francisco Rent Board. That means that if the original lease said the landlord pays for electricity, [...] the company that bought it is responsible now.

For more, see Foreclosure's hidden victims.

(1) According to the story: State and local laws prohibit landlords from evicting tenants or shutting off utilities in most circumstances like these, but not all renters are aware of the rules, and not all of the entities that take control of properties try to learn them. "The basic problem is that the people who are acquiring these properties, they don't understand or want to understand that tenants have rights in San Francisco," said Tommi Avicolli Mecca, director of counseling programs at the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco. "You can't just go in and tell them to leave, you can't shut off utilities, you can't call the police, you can't do any of that stuff." He and other tenant advocates and attorneys worry that many renters who aren't aware of these rules are being pressured into handing over their keys. TenantRentSkimmingAlpha