Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Re: tenant in foreclosure

You have 30 days from the date of the filing.

You still owe rent to the new owner.

The new owner is obligated to return the deposit within 21 days of your vacating.

You cannot keep the items. They are fixtures and go with the property.

You are welcome.`

Re: tenant in foreclosure

I am sorry to hear of your situation. Sadly, it is becoming more and more common to hear of people who have been the vicitim of unscrupulous landlords. First, yes, don't pay rent to anyone at this point unless the bank agrees to give you a written lease and let you remain as a tenant. That is probably not going to happen as banks prefer not to manage rentals. Second, unless you have poor credit already I would not recommend "riding out" the eviction until the Marshall or Sheriff comes to lock you out. An eviction on your credit report will make it difficult to rent in the future, unless you rent only from private parties. The eviction process can be as quick as a couple of weeks, or can drag out for months depending upon a lot of factors. Again, I don't recommend riding this out and would start looking right now for a new apartment or home.

Finally, with respect to your security deposit and the [former] landlord's property. Technically, the property still belongs to the landlord, as the foreclosure only delivers the real property (the home) to the lender. Taking that property would constitute theft or conversion. As for your security deposit, you need to contact the landlord and demand return of the deposit immediately. Your lease was terminated by operation of law on the day the foreclosure took place. Under California law, the landlord has 21 days from that date to return to you either the entire security deposit, or a letter detailing the use of the security deposit to pay for damage to the property. As he/she no longer owns the property, there technically cannot be any deductions, so he/she must return it. If the landlord doesn't return the deposit, sue the landlord in small claims court.

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