Renters Risk Losing Homes in Foreclosure Too

By: Ellen Frick, Outreach Coordinator, NHS of Baltimore

At NHS of Baltimore, foreclosure prevention counselors have helped many individuals negotiate loan modifications with their lenders in order to mitigate the loss of a home. However, when it comes to foreclosure prevention, our services aid mainly homeowners, not renters. Yet according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, an estimated forty percent of people losing their homes due to foreclosure are renters. In some cases, tenants may not even be aware of the risk until they are served an eviction notice.

I recently attended a Maryland Renters and Foreclosure Conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond in Baltimore. The event was also sponsored by the Public Justice Center, the Baltimore Homeownership Preservation Coalition (BHPC), and the Rental Housing Coalition. The conference emphasized that tenants have long been ignored in the mortgage crisis and only recently have their rights been protected through law.

Fortunately, just this past spring, new federal legislation was enacted to protect renters whose landlords are facing foreclosure. This federal law, Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act, aims to ensure renters are aware of a possible foreclosure and, if necessary, are given an eviction notice in a timely manner. One of the stipulations of the law states that if the tenant has more than ninety days left on their lease, they may have a right to stay in the property until the lease is expired. Keep in mind that many laws concerning renters’ rights still vary state-to-state and the new federal legislation does not supersede state laws.

If you are a renter in need of assistance call Baltimore Neighborhoods, Inc.’s (BNI) Tenant-Landlord Hotline at 410-243-6007 or the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development’s (DHCD) information line at 877-775-0357. Another great resource is the Renters’ Rights brochure published by the Baltimore Homeownership Preservation Coalition and the Rental Housing Coalition.