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montyfreeman · Jan 4, 2009, 06:01 AM

In July of 2008 we rented a house in Wildomar California. We paid our rent on time 4 four months straight then the banking crisis hit and some of my clients were unable to pay me for work completed. Needless to say it caused us financial hardship. We have not paid November and December rent and have received a registered notice to vacate. We found out through a friend that In August, the owner went into default .this tells us that he was behind when before rented the home and was not paying the mortgage afterwards. We have been advised not to pay the back payments and to leave right away. We will be able to pay the back rent in a couple of weeks... should we ? What recourse do we have if any. How long can we stay in the home once an unlawful detainer case is filed. Is there any petition or case we can bring against him for renting his house to us knowing he would be in default one month later. We would like to stay but are concerned that the house will be banked owned soon.Help

pepsichallenge · Jan 4, 2009, 06:14 AM

You should get a 3-day notice to pay or quite. At which tie you either pay up for staying or you leave when 3 days are up. If you decide to stay beyond the 3 days, the landlord will then file an eviction. The process for eviction generally takes about 60 days. If you catch a few errors in the process you can expect to hold it up a bit longer. Of course you will be sued for the late rent regardless of the landlords position, he was the title holder and made an agreement. Plus you will have the eviction on your credit report. I advise move out after 3 days, if you have no place to stay, then wait for the eviction process.

excon · Jan 4, 2009, 06:50 AM

Hello monty:

I know only a little. Somebody will be along who knows a lot more than me...

However, I've been hearing about this new California law that offers protection to tenants, who PAY their rent, from landlords who DON'T pay the mortgage...

But, that's not you, cause you didn't pay your rent... Of course, you owe him back rent. You lived there. You're going to owe him rent till the end of the month of any month you vacate too. Why do you think you DON'T owe rent??

But, when and if the bank takes over the house, that's the day you're going to start owing the BANK rent. They probably won't let you stay, and I don't think you're going to have any RIGHT to stay.

The NEW law, however, might give you some rights... But, I doubt it, because you haven't PAID your rent. If you want to take advantage of ANY of this new legislation, I'm positive your rent is going to have to be paid.

But, I've probably not helped you much without knowing the details of the new law... I suppose I could Google it... You could too.

excon

ScottGem · Jan 4, 2009, 08:17 AM

First the fact that the property is on foreclosure has little to do with you. One of the reasons it may be in foreclosure is because you failed to pay the rental owed.

There is a law in CA that requires that a landlord pay the rental towards the mortgage. But you have no idea whether the landlord hasn't. Plus the fact that you are behind in your rent wouldn't make this law applicable to your situation.

You have a lease, you have to adhere to the terms of that lease. The landlord can evict you or you can move on your own.