Mariana Wagner

New Law Protects You, as a Tenant, if You Are Renting a Colorado Springs Home that is in Foreclosure

A new law went into effect on May 20th, 2009 that protects renters from being homeless when their rented home goes into foreclosure. This is a part of the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009.

If you are renting a Colorado Springs home and your landlord has stopped paying their mortgage and the home is now in foreclosure, you NOW have options. As long as you are a good tenant and still paying your rent on time, you will have AT LEAST 90 days notice before having to find a new home.

To See if Your Rental Home is in Foreclosure, Read: Colorado Springs Renters Beware – Make Sure Your Landlord is Paying Their Mortgage or YOU Could Be Homeless!

In fact, if the home goes into foreclosure and you have a written lease agreement, and the new home buyer does NOT want to live in the property, you MAY even be able to finish out the term of your lease before moving! (See details below…)

Here are the basics of the new law:

“Under the new law, which went into effect on May 20th, tenants will have to receive 90-days notice prior to being evicted, when their rental home is foreclosed upon. In addition, tenants must be allowed to stay in the property through the end of their lease, with two exceptions:

1. The new owner wants to occupy the property as a personal residence, and
2. There is no lease (month to month), or there is a lease but state law allows the lease to be terminated at any time upon notice.

Even under these exceptions, the tenants must be given 90-days before they can be evicted. Notification must be provided by the “immediate successor in interest”. In some cases, this notification will come from the bank (when they assume the home), and in other cases it may be the new owner. Much will depend upon state law.

A number of states have existing laws protecting tenants. This law will preempt existing state law, except where the state law offers greater protection.

The protections of this law apply only to “bona fide” tenants – who have:

• a written contract,
• the lease was the result of an arms-length transaction, and
• the rent is not substantially less than the fair market rent for the property.

**Under any conditions, tenants may still be evicted if they violate the lease terms. These provisions expire on December 31, 2012.” – National Association of Realtors

To see if and how these terms apply to you, as a tenant,  please contact a reputable Real Estate Attorney.   We recommend Jonathan Goodman  at 303.494.3000

July 3rd, 2009 by Mariana Wagner | 6 Comments »

This entry was posted on Friday, July 3rd, 2009 at 8:08 am and is filed under Colorado Springs Homes, Colorado Springs Real Estate, Foreclosure Information. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1. Rochelle Ann Allison said at July 6th, 2009 at 5:41 am

   Mariana – This is great news for all of the tenants that are affected by foreclosures. Your blog is a great resource for all of Colorado Springs residents, buyers, sellers and renters. Keep up the good work!

2. Mariana Wagner said at July 6th, 2009 at 11:23 am

   Thanks Rochelle!

3. Crystal Kingsley/David Kingsley said at August 11th, 2009 at 3:22 pm

   I have a month to month with the landlord and the house is in forclosure. I also have 4 children under the age of 10. will we have to relocate or can there be a notice set out to home buyers that there is a tenant already here?

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