Foreclosures devastate families and neighborhoods and hamper economic recovery. Experience and research have revealed that the foreclosure crisis affects more than homeowners. As landlords have defaulted on their mortgages, renters in good standing have been evicted from properties in foreclosure with little or no notice. In fact, NLIHC research shows that renters make up as many as 40% of the households facing foreclosure. In 2009, the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (PTFA) was introduced to provide renters with housing stability when their homes are foreclosed on. NLIHC advocates for making PTFA stronger and permanent, as well as for other foreclosure interventions on behalf of renters.
On September 26, 2012, NLIHC held a webinar with the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty titled "Renters in Foreclosure: New Research on the Scope of the Problem and Current Renter Protections." The slides from the webinar are attached to this page, along with questions posed by webinar participants and answers from the panelists.
NLIHC supports:
- The rights of renters facing foreclosure.
- Improving PTFA by eliminating the current December 2014 sunset, increasing oversight of PTFA implementation by HUD and other regulators, and including a private right of action for renters.
- Policies that ensure lower income former homeowners and renters have access to long-term rental options in their foreclosed homes, including own-to-rent proposals that allow former homeowners to remain in their homes.
- Protections for private-market multifamily tenants who are threatened by foreclosure.
- Use of real estate-owned (REO) properties for affordable rental housing.
- Foreclosure prevention and bankruptcy reform legislation.