Beware: New Notice Requirement On Tenant Occupied Foreclosures
Commencing January 1, 2011, a notice to terminate a residential tenant who remains in the property after a foreclosure sale must include a statutory notice of the tenant's rights under the newly added California Code of Civil Procedure section 1161c passed pursuant to Senate Bill 1149. This requirement applies to an immediate successor-in-interest involving any residential foreclosure for one year after a foreclosure sale. The code section mandates that the tenant's rights must be stated on a separate cover sheet or, alternatively, incorporated into the 90-day notice to terminate.
The Notice is to state:
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Notice to Any Renters Living At [street address of the unit]
The attached notice means that your home was recently sold in foreclosure and the new owner plans to evict you. You should talk to a lawyer NOW to see what your rights are. You may receive court papers in a few days. If your name is on the papers it may hurt your credit if you do not respond and simply move out. Also, if you do not respond within five days of receiving the papers, even if you are not named in the papers, you will likely lose any rights you may have. In some cases, you can respond without hurting your credit. You should ask a lawyer about it. You may have the right to stay in your home for 90 days or longer, regardless of any deadlines stated on any attached papers.
In some cases and in some cities with a “just cause for eviction law,” you may not have to move at all. But you must take the proper legal steps in order to protect your rights.[Or if notice is stated in a 90 day Notice to Quit, the preceding paragraph is to be replaced with the following: You may have the right to stay in your home for longer than 90 days. If you have a lease that ends more than 90 days from now, the new owner must honor the lease under any circumstances.
Also, in some cases and in some cities with a “just cause for eviction law,” you may not have to move at all. But you must take the proper legal steps in order to protect your rights.
How to Get Legal help if you cannot afford an attorney, you may be eligible for free legal services from a nonprofit legal services program. You can locate these nonprofit groups at the California Legal Services Web site, the California Courts Online Self-Help Center, or by contacting your local court or county bar association.
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CCP Section 1161c sunsets on January 1, 2013. Senate Bill 1149 also amended the Code of Civil Procedure 1161.2 with the aim to protect against unfair damage to the credit of a residential tenant by generally prohibiting the court clerk from revealing unlawful detainer court records unless the bank or third party investor prevails at the unlawful detainer trial.
