[quote=UCGal]bg – since the squatting renters have a lease (that they didn’t honor), and are not the foreclosed buyer – chances are they could get 30 days to move AND cash for keys.
The new owner has to do the eviction of the tenants.
At least that’s what I think would happen. I could be full of soup.[/quote]
Yes, UCGal, if on a month-to-month rental agreement occupying a foreclosed property, a tenant would get 90 days to move if the new owner was an individual purchaser of a Trustees Deed. If the new owner is the foreclosing lender (beneficiary), they are obliged to honor the duration of a tenants’ lease (if they can prove they have a legitimate one). Otherwise, the foreclosing lender can serve them with a 90-day notice to vacate. In either case, there is nothing stopping either *new* owner from “buying them out” in the form of “cash for keys” if they want to take possession ASAP.
However, as soon as the rent is due again (usually the 1st of the month), their “squatting party” would be over for the “enterprising tenants.” It wouldn’t matter if this was part of their last 90 days. They’d have to cough up rent to the new owner. Whether or not the “enterprising tenants” had a lease with the defaulting trustor, a buyer of a Trustees Deed does not have to honor its duration as he/she was not a party to it.
The new (individual) owner is also free to get a new lease/rental agreement and deposit from them forthwith is he/she wishes to keep them as tenants. The new owner has the right to file a 3-day notice to pay (rent) or quit on the sixth day after the rent is typically due if they haven’t received any rent after serving a 3-day notice to pay (rent) or quit. Beginning the 10th day after the rent is due, the new owner can begin eviction proceedings if they still haven’t paid the rent after being served with a 3-day notice to pay (rent) or quit.
In any case, the “enterprising tenants'” squatting days are most likely over (if the buyer of the TD or beneficiary is on top of their timeline), defeating their original purpose of living there.
Note: Under new Federal legislation recently signed by President Obama, a tenant is now entitled to a 90-day notice to vacate if they are occupying a property which has been foreclosed upon. The new law does not preclude the requirement to pay rent. On the 91st day (the day after delivering the 90-day notice to vacate), the new owner is entitled to possession (even if rent has been paid on time) and can begin eviction proceedings (duration normally 20-45 days in CA, depending on court docket in the “UD Depts”).
If I was an “enterprising tenant,” I would NOT want the black mark of an eviction on my record. It is much smarter to leave voluntarily (maybe with some “early walking $$”) and plunk down another deposit on a new place (in default) to “squat” awhile, since they’re so “plentiful” right now =) =)
In CA, a defaulting trustor still occupying their property at the time of foreclosure has only 3 days to move after being served with a 3 day notice to quit, which can be served on the day after the recordation of the trustees deed. If they do not move out in the 3-day period, then the new owner has the right to begin eviction proceedings against them on the 4th day after service of the 3-day notice. In this instance, it doesn’t matter if the new owner is the foreclosing lender or the purchaser of a Trustees Deed. The legal presumption here is that the defaulting trustor has already had ample notice of the impending foreclosure and subsequent loss of possession of the property.
In CA, when the Sheriff’s Dept is used to evict, their only obligation is to set the occupant’s belongings in the front yard, or curbside.
If there are any Pigg attorneys versed in landlord-tenant law, please feel welcome to correct any discrepancies here.
