- A bona fide tenant gets at least 90 days' written notice under federal law
- A bona fide lease is generally honored to its last day after a foreclosure
- A buyer moving in as a primary residence still owes 90 days' written notice
- State or local law can give renters more than the federal floor, never less
This page is for renters. The home you pay rent on was sold at a foreclosure auction, and the notices on the door name someone else. One federal statute reaches every state on this subject, so start with it, then check what your state and city add on top.
The short answer
A foreclosure sale changes who owns the building, not whether you have a tenancy, and it does not let anyone remove you without a court case. The Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act, made permanent in 2018 (Pub. L. 115-174 §304), sets a national floor: a bona fide tenant in a foreclosed residential property must get at least 90 days’ written notice before the new owner can require them to leave, and a bona fide lease runs to its end date unless the buyer will occupy the home as a primary residence. That is a floor, not a ceiling. State and local law can give you more, and many places do.
Who counts as a bona fide tenant
The Act sets three tests, and you have to meet all three.
- You are not the borrower who lost the property, and not that person’s spouse, child or parent.
- Your tenancy came from an arm’s-length transaction, an ordinary rental rather than a favor or a paper arrangement.
- The rent is not substantially below market. Rent held down by a government subsidy such as a housing voucher still counts.
A month-to-month tenancy qualifies, and a written lease is not required. What is required is proof, because the buyer treats you on what you can show: the rental agreement, bank records or receipts for rent, utility accounts in your name, and mail delivered to the address.
What survives the sale, and for how long
| Your situation | What the Act gives you | Where more can come from |
|---|---|---|
| Month-to-month or another periodic tenancy | At least 90 days’ written notice before you can be required to leave | State notice periods and local just-cause rules |
| A fixed-term lease signed before the sale | The lease is honored to its last day | Your lease terms and state law |
| The buyer will live in the home as a primary residence | The lease can be cut short, but only on at least 90 days’ written notice | State and local rules |
| You are the former owner, or that person’s spouse, child or parent | Nothing. The Act does not cover you: see Staying in the Home After the Sale | State law |
| Rent far below market, or an arrangement with a relative | Probably nothing, because the tenancy is not bona fide | State landlord-tenant law |
When the property sells, the buyer becomes the successor in interest and takes it subject to a bona fide lease, which is why a fixed-term lease keeps running. The Act sets the notice; it does not excuse unpaid rent, and it does not enforce itself. A buyer who serves a short notice is often waiting to see whether anyone objects.
Deadline: A 90-day notice is not a court case, but a summons is. Once you are served, your written answer is due on a deadline set by your state, and it is short. In California, for example, a tenant served with an eviction summons has 10 court days to respond (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §1167).
Rent, proof of ownership and your deposit
Keep paying rent. A renter who stops paying hands the new owner the simplest case there is. The real question is who should receive the money, because after the sale the former landlord has no right to collect it. Before you pay anyone new, ask for the recorded deed and check the name against the county’s records. Until ownership is proven, set each month’s rent aside, and pay by a traceable method, never cash. People posing as the new owner are a known problem after a foreclosure, covered in our guide to post-foreclosure scams.
Your security deposit is a state-law question after a foreclosure. Many states pass the obligation to the new owner as successor, and a few leave the former landlord on the hook. Keep the record of what you paid and photographs of the unit’s condition, then ask your state landlord-tenant office before you write the deposit off.
If an eviction case is filed
The case is filed in the court that serves the property, called unlawful detainer in many states and forcible entry and detainer, summary process, summary ejectment or dispossessory in others. Unlawful Detainer Filings explains which paper is which. If you are named, answer in writing before your state’s deadline, and state in that answer that you are a bona fide tenant and what notice you were given. If the papers name only the former owner and “all occupants”, an unnamed occupant may still be able to join the case before judgment. Some buyers would rather pay a renter to leave than wait out 90 days, so read Cash for Keys before you agree to a figure.
A renter’s first seven days
- Find the rental agreement and at least a year of proof that you paid rent.
- Send the buyer a short letter stating that you rent the unit, attach the lease, and keep proof.
- Ask for the recorded deed before you pay rent to anyone new.
- Photograph every notice, including ones addressed to the former owner, and note the date you received it.
- Open all court mail the day it arrives, even when the envelope carries somebody else’s name.
- Put your hands on the receipt or bank record for your security deposit.
What our specialists do for renters
Our specialists assemble the proof that makes you a bona fide tenant, confirm who owns the property from the recorded deed, and correspond with the buyer about the 90 days its state requires and about a move-out date if you take one. Where the papers name only the former owner and “all occupants”, we prepare what your state needs to add an unnamed occupant before judgment. Where your state requires a licensed attorney to prepare or file court papers, a licensed attorney handles it. We are a private organization of post foreclosure specialists and advocates, and nothing here is legal advice; for a dispute you can also talk to a legal aid office or a tenant hotline in your state. Any surplus from the sale belongs to the former owner rather than to a renter, and we handle that person’s claim at no out-of-pocket expense, with any fee coming from the surplus once it is recovered.
Questions about tenants after foreclosure
No. Under federal law a bona fide tenant gets at least 90 days' written notice, and a bona fide lease is generally honored to its end unless the buyer will live in the home as a primary residence. Your state or city may give you more than that, and nobody can remove you without a court judgment.
The new owner, once it proves it owns the property. Ask to see the recorded deed from the sale first. Pay by a traceable method, keep the receipts, and set the rent aside if nobody has proved ownership, so that you are never the tenant who stopped paying.
A short notice written for a former owner does not shorten the 90 days a bona fide tenant is owed. Do not ignore it either. Write back that you rent the unit, attach a copy of your lease, and keep proof that you sent it.
Low rent alone does not disqualify you, and rent reduced by a government subsidy still counts. The federal test asks whether the tenancy was arm's-length and whether the rent is substantially below market, and it excludes the former owner and that person's spouse, child or parent.
Who answers for the deposit after a foreclosure is decided by state law, and many states pass the obligation to the new owner. Keep the lease, the receipt or bank record showing what you paid, and photographs of the unit, then ask your state landlord-tenant office or legal aid how it works where you live.
Not automatically. Some states let an occupant who is not named ask the court to be added before judgment, and some let a judgment reach everyone in the unit. Our specialists find out how an unnamed occupant is protected in your state and prepare what has to be filed before the hearing.