California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced on Monday that he will be opening an investigation into foreclosed properties and the state’s possible infringement of tenants’ rights. As part of his investigation, he sent letters to 24 banks, law firms, loan servicers, and private investors requesting information on their policies and procedures to see if they are forcefully evicting tenants from buildings that have been foreclosed by banks.
In a press released on Monday, the attorney general stated that over 20 public and housing rights interest groups in California petitioned to Brown, urging him to investigate “tenant harassment by banks, real estate agents and lawyers attempting to speed up evictions so that foreclosed properties can be sold.”
The attorney general also outlined provisions in the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act, which was passed by Congress in May 2009 to protect “tenants from eviction because of foreclosure on the properties they are renting,” as reported by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), a federal agency created to oversee national banks.
Various rights are given to tenants on foreclosed properties, including the right to be given 90 days notice prior to eviction. Tenants are also permitted to stay at their residence until the end of their lease, unless the property has already been sold to a purchaser “who will occupy the property as a primary residence or, when there is no lease or the lease is terminable at will under state law,” according to the OCC. In addition, “Harassment, such as improper entry into a person’s home, shutting off water and lights, or changing the locks without a court order is illegal,” according to the press statement by the attorney general.
Tenants Together, a tenants’ right organization in California, reported instances of intimidation and misrepresentation by banks to drive tenants out of their homes. In one case, a man returned home to find a note informing him that the locks have been changed and if he wished to claim his personal properties inside, he would need to contact someone.
Brown requested for the banks, law firms, and other groups to provide information on their policies and procedures by July 19.
Brown urges those who believe their rights as tenants have been violated to contact the attorney general’s public inquiry unit at http://ag.ca.gov/consumers/general.php.
In a press released on Monday, the attorney general stated that over 20 public and housing rights interest groups in California petitioned to Brown, urging him to investigate “tenant harassment by banks, real estate agents and lawyers attempting to speed up evictions so that foreclosed properties can be sold.”
The attorney general also outlined provisions in the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act, which was passed by Congress in May 2009 to protect “tenants from eviction because of foreclosure on the properties they are renting,” as reported by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), a federal agency created to oversee national banks.
Various rights are given to tenants on foreclosed properties, including the right to be given 90 days notice prior to eviction. Tenants are also permitted to stay at their residence until the end of their lease, unless the property has already been sold to a purchaser “who will occupy the property as a primary residence or, when there is no lease or the lease is terminable at will under state law,” according to the OCC. In addition, “Harassment, such as improper entry into a person’s home, shutting off water and lights, or changing the locks without a court order is illegal,” according to the press statement by the attorney general.
Tenants Together, a tenants’ right organization in California, reported instances of intimidation and misrepresentation by banks to drive tenants out of their homes. In one case, a man returned home to find a note informing him that the locks have been changed and if he wished to claim his personal properties inside, he would need to contact someone.
Brown requested for the banks, law firms, and other groups to provide information on their policies and procedures by July 19.
Brown urges those who believe their rights as tenants have been violated to contact the attorney general’s public inquiry unit at http://ag.ca.gov/consumers/general.php.
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