Know Your New Tenant Rights!

Published June 07, 2009 @ 02:22PM PT

On May 20, Obama signed the Protecting Tenants in Foreclosure Act to protect renters living in foreclosed buildings. This was a much-needed move to protect renters in foreclosed properties from being displaced from their homes.

(In case you haven't heard, the pace of foreclosures hasn't slowed... there have been over one million foreclosures so far this year.)

Thing is, there's a catch. The provisions in the new tenant protection laws are "self-executing", so no federal agency (such as HUD) is responsible for oversight or enforcement. The responsibility lies on tenants and advocates to see that everyone involved in the foreclosure process honors the new law. If a tenant doesn't know their rights, they could wind up being evicted (and displaced) far too soon.

Don't have time to familiarize yourself with this new law? Fear not. The National Housing Law Project (NHLP) has compiled an incredibly thorough toolkit to help tenants navigate the provisions of the law and exercise their new rights. In addition to providing sample letters, there are some great fact sheets that outline everything a tenant or advocate needs to know to understand the new law.

Check it out. You could help someone prevent unnecessary displacement.

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Comments (2)

Thanks for this information, I hope none of us have to use it, but just in case.. It will come in handy.. A million homes already this year? whats the next 6 months in-tale?

Posted by Joe Wilson on 06/08/2009 @ 06:40AM PT
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I feel compelled to add a cautioning here. Unfortunately, I've had the odious experience of having worked for some of the more predatorial and abusive types of landlords. The raw fact is, these types WILL make even concerted efforts to work around such protective laws and, unfortunately, this can turn out to be surprisingly effective nevertheless.A main warning I usually emphasize to renters, and which is among to worst disservices done them by even so-called "tenant advocacy" outfits, has to do with properties' filing "evictions".Typically, renters are told to "not worry" about this and even falsely assured that they will be able to get months of "free rent" or other such euphemized "boons"... which, in reality, can turn out to be booby prizes.This is because once an "unlawful detainer" (aka "eviction") is filed against a person, it becomes a public record. Property managers routinely run checks on public records at the time of a person's application to rent. Increasingly, when such a check shows a "UD" (unlawful detainer) filing in a person's record, they will be denied rental, as just a matter of policy. Even if they had actually won the action. And this limitation will go on for years and at more and more properties.Avoid having any such filings against you!!!

Posted by SlumJack Homeless on 06/08/2009 @ 08:52AM PT
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Author

Shannon has worked in homeless shelters and service organizations in San Francisco, the Triangle region of North Carolina, and currently in the greater Boston area. She is a graduate student studying housing and urban policy at Tufts University.