Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Tenants rights in a forclosure / trustee sale

First, you do have a rental contract with your sister-in-law; it just isn't written. Even if you never made an oral contract, there is an "implied contract" and on hearing all the facts, a judge could tell you the terms of the contract and your rights and obligations under the contract. This observation is based on your saying that you are 'a renter' and therefore not a guest.

Most likely, you are a month-to-month tenant. Therefore, unless there is rent control in your community, the landlord can change the terms of your rental on either 30 or 60 days notice (60 for a rent increase greater than 10%).

The prospective buyer must observe all the laws protecting tenants' rights, but otherwise is free to charge $25 a day or to terminate your tenancy.

However, the prospective buyer doesn't have the rights of a landlord until he buys and gets the right of possession (through passage of title). Anything he says prior to that is more of a forewarning than an enforceable demand, unless of course your sister-in-law has given the prospective buyer some kind of agency authority to speak for her while she is still owner.

There may be other aspects to the matter based on facts not given in your question, but this handles the basic issues.