Renters’ Rights: What You Need To Know
A week ago, Jason Tobias got a letter slapped on his leased condo at Palermo in Palm Springs. The letter warned him that his condo and 33 other units owned by the developer, PS Venture Indian Canyon, were in foreclosure and about to be sold.
Tobias signed a one-year lease in September. He’s going to hold tight and wait this one out, because he knows his rights.
“We knew there were problems with the developer financially, we weren’t sure exactly where that’d go,” said Tobias.
The good news for renters like Tobias, in May of 2009 President Barack Obama signed into law the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act. It allows a renter to stay in the home through the lease agreement even if it is sold to someone else.
“The worst scenario is a renter gets a lease and then a knock on the door saying they are getting foreclosed upon,” said Jilline Holliday with Nextage The Mantelli Group. Tenants Together, a California nonprofit, estimated in 2009, almost a third of all foreclosed properties in Riverside affected renters.
To make sure the owner has to honor the lease, you must be current with your rent payments. If you’re month to month, you have at least 90 days from the day the property is sold. If you have a long-term lease, the new owner must honor the agreement and allow you to stay until the lease is up. The new owner or Realtor may try to pressure you to get out, but Holliday said know your rights.
Tenants Together is a California non-profit looking out for renters’ rights. You can call its hotline to get help. The nonprofit organization can even help you be proactive by looking up financial information about your landlord for free. The hotline toll-free number is 1-888-495-8020. Or check out it’swebsite.
