Evicted from home...what are ones rights?

Question

I have a friend who was recently given a notice of eviction from a home that he was renting. A representative from a lending company advised him that the home was being foreclosed and that he has until 081508 to move out. The owner (who he was renting from) lives out of state and was not making the mortgage payments on the home. So the owner was basically pocketing the rental payments. Can my friend persue any sort of law suite against the owner?

Answer 1

Nope, I think it's only 30 days notice to leave depending on what state your in.  And you can't control what the owner does with the money- it does really matter.  It's the same rules as if he sold it- your friend has to leave.  He will prob. have to sue the guy in small claims court to get his deposits back from him.  But call and ask- maybe the owner will just return them to not have to deal with it.

Answer 2

If the owner can't pay the mortgage payment then suing him will not result in getting any money, it would be a waste of time and effort to file a lawsuit.

Answer 3

The current owner of the property is entitled to full rents until ownership changed hands via foreclosure.  Through 'involuntary sales' (which includes foreclosure) lease agreements do not transfer to the new owner.

Your friend needs to pay rents as agreed as long as he lives in the premises.  If he does not get any return of 'security deposit', he will need to sue the former owner in small claims court to get it back.

Answer 4

Tenants need to understand that what a landlord does with their rental payments is basically none of the tenants business.

While I understand the turmoil that these recent foreclosures have had on lease holding tenants...unfortunately there are no current laws (except for Calif.) that protect tenants in any way.