Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Re: home

I assume you mean that the house is in foreclosure, and going to a trustee's sale at auction. As a tenant, your right to remain in the property - your "tenancy" - is terminated by operation of law upon the foreclosure sale. Any lease you may have had is terminated, and you are now at the will of the bank or individual who acquires the property at the foreclosure sale.

First, with respect to your former landlord - the one to whom you have been paying rent. If the sale takes place mid-month, and you paid a full month's rent to the landlord, insist that he pro-rate the rent for the days he did not own the property (from the sale date to the end of the month) and that he pay you the rent he is not entitled to. Also, 21 days after the foreclosure sale, your landlord must return your security deposit without any deductions for damage. As he no longer owns the property, he cannot claim damages against the security deposit. If he doesn't pay you either, sue him in small claims court. Also, if you had a term-lease, you may be entitled to other damages - see a local real estate attorney about that.

Second, with respect to the bank, or whomever buys the property at sale, they have to give you a sixty day notice to leave (Notice to Quit) before you legally have to leave. After that notice expires, they can sue you and evict you. The good news is that most banks are not asking for rent during this sixty days. Also, some banks are offering tenants "cash for keys" - in other words, they will pay you as much as $5,000 (depending upon where you live, and the value of the home) to leave before the sixty day notice is up. This is totally voluntary on their part, so they may not make that offer. Finally, some banks are even offering the tenant the option of signing a new lease with the bank - you might explore that option.

If, however, an individual buys the home at auction, you can expect that you will receive a sixty day notice, and that you will have to move within that time, as individuals are not apt to give the kinds of concessions that banks will.

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