Protecting renters from foreclosure-related evictions

Many renters are finding themselves out of a home because their landlords have fallen into foreclosure. We’ve helped people who have never missed a rent payment and are suddenly forced to move in the middle of this tough economy.

Today the Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved my proposal to suspend foreclosure-related evictions for one year. The ordinance now goes to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to be signed into law. This new ordinance will protect tenants and help protect neighborhoods from the nuisances that can accompany empty, boarded-up homes.

Under the city’s Rent Stabilzation Ordinance, renters in buildings built before 1978 are currently protected from evictions solely due to a change in property ownership through foreclosure. This ordinance would for a one-year period protect all renters in the City of Los Angeles from being evicted because a bank assumes ownership of a property due to foreclosure.

Renters who have questions about their rights in these situations should call the City of Los Angeles’s renter hotline: 1-866-557-RENT.