Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

My landlord went into foreclosure last October. He no longer owns the building or tries to collect rent as of this month. I have been getting letters from different agencies saying they now manage the property. Some said they were responsible for maintenance of the building, until our water was shut off. In our lease water and trash are included. When we called the water department they said our former landlord said he was living in the house but would like it turned off and the account closed. County records have no owner, we have no idea what we should do. We haven't received notice to vacate. The bank tried to auction off the house but no one bought it. There are 4 apts. with month to month leases, occupied by people with very limited income. We paid large security deposits, double monthly rent, when we moved in. What are our options? Thank you in advance for your help.


Asked on 7/13/11, 7:11 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
David Gibbs The Gibbs Law Firm, APC

First, find and hire a local attorney who handles tenant matters. You need to check with the foreclosure trustee to see if the sale was concluded, or postponed. The property, if not sold to a third-party investor generally reverts back to the lender for what they are owed. It takes 7-10 days for a Trustee's Deed to be recorded at the County Recorder's office after a foreclosure sale, so depending on when the sale was conducted, it may simply be that the deed has not yet been recorded and indexed, but that in fact someone did buy the property. Alternatively, if the sale did not go forward, the landlord may have jumped the gun and turned off utilities to get them out of his or her name, but then the sale did not conclude. If that is the case, the landlord is still responsible, and you should again contact a tenant rights attorney to fight him.

With respect to the security deposits, because the landlord almost certainly did not tender them to the bank or the purchaser at the foreclosure sale, he is still liable to refund them within 21 days of the date he lost title to the property. If he does not, sue him for the deposit plus treble damages.

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Answered on 7/21/11, 5:16 pm


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