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waytoonice · Feb 9, 2009, 05:16 PM

We have property under lease until 12/09. Unfortunity we have to terminate the lease due to foreclosure/shortsale. We gave the tenant 3months verbal notice. Now the time is up they don't want to move. They want to stay rent free till they lock up the house. Can I give a 30 days to move or pay? Or do they get to stay free till the short sale is over?

excon · Feb 9, 2009, 05:24 PM

Hello way:

What happens to your tenants AFTER the foreclosure ISN'T your business. Maybe they can make arrangements with the NEW owner to stay. You have no obligation or right to terminate their lease.

But, you opened a can of worms. No, of course they can't stay without paying you rent. But, you're going to have a hard time collecting from them now.

Yes, give them notice... But, I'm sure your landlord/tenant laws allow you to give them a much shorter notice than that - like 3 days. Maybe if you were a little bit more familiar with those rules, you wouldn't have cut off your nose to spite your face.

By the way, a verbal notice is like NO NOTICE AT ALL.

excon

Fr_Chuck · Feb 9, 2009, 08:28 PM

Unless you live in California,

They have to pay your rent up to the day the bank takes over

If you do a short sale, the lease is still valid, since the property is selling, so for a short sale, the new owner has to honor the lease.

If it is foreclosed, then the lease ends on the day the bank sells it.

So you violated the terms of the lease by trying to illegally evict them, They may just ignore your notice to move.

And if you try to evict at this point, they may try and sue you for a illegal eviction.

Welcome to the world of rental and not asking before you did something illlegal.

So you need to go back and tell them you are sorry for trying to illegaly evict them, and that they may stay as long as they pay rent.

If they don't pay you may evict for that reason,

If you are in California, they don't have to pay rent while you are in a foreclosure status, and in fact can sue you for all rents paid while you were in default.

waytoonice · Feb 10, 2009, 06:50 AM

Okay so it is in California and they have not paid rent since its been in default. Now what? Do they get to stay until the bank forcloses? What if the lender wants to do a short sale?

ScottGem · Feb 10, 2009, 09:17 AM

Under CA law, you are required to use any rental paid towards your mortgage. As long as you have been doing that, you are not in violation of Ca law and they have no grounds to stop paying rent.

I don't agree that your verbal notice constitued an illegal eviction, but you did not have a right to break the lease.

Generally, you can do a 3-10 day pay or quit notice, depending on local laws. This gives them the specified amount of time to pay in full or vacate. If they have not left by the deadline, then you go to court for an eviction order. This generally involves a hearing, where your attempt to break the lease MAY work against you. If the judge grants you the eviction then he will issue an order foe them to vacate, if they don't you hire a sheriff to physcially remove them.

As stated, in a sale, the new owner has to honor the lease. In a foreclosure the lease terminates with the foreclosure.