States act for renters caught in foreclosure trap

updated 5:42 p.m. ET Oct. 16, 2008

MIAMI - Tita Mendoza and her husband moved into their Miami Beach condo in June and have been dutifully paying the $1,800 rent on time every month. And yet, they could be evicted any day now.

Last month, the Mendozas were served with court papers notifying them that their landlord was being foreclosed on, meaning the couple could be turned out on the street.

“It’s unbelievable to me that people could be so irresponsible,” said Mendoza, who moved to Miami Beach from Chicago, where the couple had owned a home. “We’re just waiting to see what happens next.”

Across the country, thousands of renters have become innocent victims of the mortgage crisis: They have been forced to move because the owner of the property was in foreclosure. Security deposits have been lost and lives turned upside-down as people scramble to find a new place to live on short notice.

A few states recently passed or proposed laws to protect renters by requiring mortgage holders to provide sufficient notice for tenants living in foreclosed properties. Sheriffs in Illinois and Michigan also have stepped in to help.

“It’s a huge issue, and it’s one that until recently has flown under the radar,” said Danilo Pelletiere, research director at the National Low Income Housing Coalition. “Renters haven’t been addressed by some localities because they have been focusing on homeowners.”

Almost 15 million renters, or 40 percent of all renters, live in single-family homes, townhouses, condos or duplexes, according to Census data. While there are no national figures on foreclosure-related evictions, these types of rental properties have been vulnerable to foreclosure because they tend to be owned by small investors.

According to RealtyTrac, about one-third of the 378,250 properties with valid mailing addresses that were in default or waiting for a foreclosure sale in May were not occupied by the owner. That would indicate they are investment properties or rentals.

Last week, Tom Dart, the sheriff in Chicago’s Cook County, drew the ire of landlords and lenders everywhere when he announced he would no longer send his deputies on court-ordered foreclosure evictions because many of the people being turned out on the street were tenants who had faithfully paid the rent.

On Thursday, Dart announced that his deputies will resume taking part in foreclosure evictions next week, but only with stringent legal safeguards worked out with the courts. Among other things, a bank that is foreclosing on a property must prove it informed all tenants of a state-mandated grace period designed to allow them to look for new housing.

In Michigan, Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell put a two-week moratorium into effect Monday on evicting renters living in foreclosed homes.

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