Lender Foiled In Attempt To Push Tenant Out Of Recently-Foreclosed Home; Renter Forced Into Court To Assert New Legal Rights To Dodge Eviction

In Sandy Springs, Georgia, The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports:

• Crystal Johnson had no idea her landlord had financial trouble until police taped an eviction notice to the door of her Sandy Springs condominium in June. About a year into her two-year lease, Johnson faced the prospect of being forced out of her home because a bank had foreclosed on the landlord, who was in default on a loan. “They treated me like I was in default,” Johnson, a music producer and songwriter, said. “But I wasn’t in default.” [...] A federal law enacted in late May, however, has eased the pain for renters such as Johnson, a single mother raising her high school aged daughter and a nephew.(1)

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• Johnson and EMC Mortgage Corp., which owned the mortgage to her landlord’s condo and took possession of the home, finally settled the case in housing court on Oct. 20. EMC, which initially wanted her out of the property, agreed to honor the remainder of her lease. [...] Prior to the law, tenants had few rights in landlord foreclosures, said Tamara Serwer Caldas, managing attorney for the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation. Caldas represented Johnson in her eviction fight.

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• Johnson said she learned about the law from her beautician, who saw a television news broadcast about it. It was part of broader legislation dealing with foreclosure mitigation. Even then, she said, only two of 15 lawyers she called for advice knew about it. “I really had to fight; I didn’t understand how this was happening,” Johnson said. “I knew I had my rights but they weren’t being enforced. I didn’t know if the marshals were going to be coming to my door. It was a very frightening time for me.” [...] Johnson said she was offered $700 by the bank that foreclosed on her landlord to leave the condo immediately. She refused and wound up going to court.

For the story, see Law helps renters forced out when landlord defaults.

(1) Among other things, this new federal law requires lenders taking title to foreclosed homes honor any existing tenant leases, and provide at least 90 days notice when vacating month-to-month renters. See Section 702(a)(2) of the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009.

The following are documents from the National Housing Law Project and the National Low Income Housing Coalition that can be used to help keep tenants from being illegally forced out of foreclosed homes in violation of the new law:

• Sample Notice for Tenants to be Used by Successors in Interest - click here,
• NLIHC's One-page Explanation of the New Tenant Protection Provisions - click here,
• Questions and Answers For Tenants Of Buildings At Foreclosure After May 20 - click here,
• NHLP Cover Memo, Tenant Protections - click here,
• Letter from a Section 8 Tenant to Landlord - click here,
• Letter from a Non-Section 8 Tenant to Landlord - click here,
• Sample Notice for all Tenants - click here,
• Sample Notice for Section 8 Voucher Holders that a PHA Could Send - click here,
• Sample Letter to Send to Judges who handle Landlord Tenant Cases - click here,
• Sample letter to Send to Public Housing and Section 8 HCV Administrators - click here,
• HUD Notice on tenant protection provisions - click here,
• Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act Statute - click here,
• Tenants in Foreclosure - Webinar.