Friday, August 08, 2008

California Tenants In Foreclosed Homes Now Get 60 Days Notice Before Facing The Boot

Buried in a story in voiceofsanddiego.org is this excerpt on tenants rights in California:
  • [Foreclosed h]omeowners who live in their house are only entitled to three days once the bank has repossessed the house before they're evicted. Tenants get at least 60 days to stay there, and they don't have to pay rent.

  • "Even though it's bad, it's really not as bad as it sounds," said local attorney Steven Kellman, who runs the Tenants Legal Center. "It's kind of a soft landing. Some of them actually think of it as a benefit, because they can save up their rent."

  • Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill into law in July to extend the amount of time such tenants are given before they must vacate the house from 30 days to 60 days. That gives tenants an extra month to save the money they would typically spend on rent and look for a new place. It also signaled an acknowledgement that when landlords can't pay their mortgages, they're unlikely to have the money to refund tenants' security deposits, which are usually about one month's rent.

For the story, see Renters Caught When Banks Foreclose on Landlords. TenantRentSkimmingAlpha