Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
I live in 96140. I rent and my one year lease is up for six months. The lease language states that terms must be renegotiated after a year and a new lease signed. We have been paying rent on time with the landlord. The house was sold at public auction yesterday. We were served a notice that says rent must be paid to the new owners, but we don't know how to pay them. Also, I believe our landlord has been saying that he lived here for some sort of loan purposes, and all the papers are addressed to him. Are we "bona fide tenants'? Do we have any rights?
2 Answers from Attorneys
You pay the new owner the same way you paid the old owner. Occupation of the premises and payment of rent makes you a tenant, regardless of the fact that there either was or is not a written lease. When a lease for a fixed term ends, it normally continues on a month to month basis, unless there is proper notice terminating the tenancy. Your former landlord's fraud on the bank has nothing to do with you, or your rights.
I agree with Mr. Roach. The former owner is defrauding his lender by trying to claim the property was owner-occupied when it was not. This may affect his rights if the lender decides to pursue him for a deficiency.
As for paying the new owner - do you need a mailing address for them? You should be able to get it from the County Tax Collector's office soon after the sale, or perhaps the recorder's office.
Your rights as a bona fide tenant are established by the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009, and you can find details with a Google search.
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