Posts (RSS)Housing Bill Passed to Save Renters of Repo Homes
The U.S. Senate has passed an amendment that will protect tenants of repo houses from being evicted. The amendment, Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act is part of the housing law, Help Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009.
Both Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and John Kerry have proposed the amendment which would give renters and families in the United States not less than 90 days to transfer to another home if they are leasing in repo homes.
The amendment states that renters in any residential real property or dwelling with a rent should be allowed to stay in foreclosed homes until the existing lease expires. The amendment also points out that if the buyer of repossessed homes plans to use the house as his primary residence then he could terminate the lease. However, renters must be given a 90-day notice to leave or vacate the property.
Additionally, renters with a lease that can be terminated anytime under state law or those without a lease have also the right to be given a 90-day notice to leave or vacate the property.
According to Gillibrand, over 30,000 tenants of repo properties in New York have not violated any terms of their lease and pay their rent regularly without fail. But she noted that these good paying tenants do not have any right when lending institutions or banks repossess the houses they are renting.
She added that families who have no means to quickly find temporary places to live or transfer into another housing unit were unceremoniously kicked out of their rental homes because their landlords reneged on their financial obligations.
On his part, Kerry claimed that tenants are the victims of foreclosure property crisis. He believed that renters who have not done anything wrong should not be evicted without proper notice and should be given enough time to find alternative living arrangements.
Many tenants are unaware that the houses they are renting are about to be repossessed because landlords kept them in the dark about their foreclosure problem. Some states have laws that give tenants in repo houses limited notice that they are about to be evicted.
The amendment will be of great benefit to low-income tenants who lease houses subject to foreclosure and who lack the means necessary to immediately relocate on a short notice.
Other senators who co-sponsored the amendment that protects tenants of repo homes are Harry Reid, Chris Dodd, Edward Kennedy, Barbara Boxer, Richard Durbin and Jeff Merkley.