[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 122 (Thursday, August 6, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S8978]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            PROTECTING TENANTS AT FORECLOSURE IMPLEMENTATION

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, for too long, tenants have been the innocent 
victims of the foreclosure crisis. Countless tenants across the country 
have been forced to leave their homes simply because their landlords 
were unable to pay their mortgages. Too often, these tenants had no 
idea that the property was even under foreclosure until the authorities 
arrived at their door to inform them that they must vacate the property 
immediately.
  I was pleased to work with Senator Kerry to include the Protecting 
Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009 in the recently enacted Helping 
Families Save their Homes Act. This new law protects tenants facing 
evictions due to foreclosure by ensuring they can remain in their homes 
for the length of the lease or, at the least, receive sufficient notice 
and time to relocate their families and lives to a new home. The full 
Senate approved the bill on May 6, 2009, and President Obama signed it 
into law on May 20, 2009.
  These protections are so important that my colleague Senator Kerry 
and I want to ensure that families and mortgage holders know their 
rights and obligations under the law.
  Under the new law, all bona fide tenants who began renting prior to 
transfer of title by foreclosure of their rental property must be given 
at least 90 days' notice before being required to vacate the property. 
In addition, these bona fide tenants are allowed to remain in place for 
the remainder of any leases entered into prior to the transfer of title 
by foreclosure. These leases may be terminated earlier only if the 
property is transferred to someone who intends to reside in the 
property and only if the tenants are given at least 90 days' notice of 
the fact of such sale. Successors in interest to properties with 
section 8 housing choice voucher tenants automatically assume the 
obligations of the former owner under the housing assistance payments 
contract.
  These basic protections are the law for tenants in every State, 
unless States have laws or practices that provide greater protections. 
I want to ask Senator Kerry, the original author of the act, if I have 
correctly expressed the intent of this legislation.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I was pleased to work with Senator Dodd to 
enact this legislation to help tenants affected by foreclosures.
  No one in the Senate has worked harder to fight against the scourge 
of foreclosures than Chairman Dodd. As a former member of the Senate 
Banking Committee, I know Chairman Dodd has tirelessly fought to assist 
low and moderate-income families and to help tenants who need 
protections from foreclosures or unscrupulous landlords. Without his 
efforts, families in Connecticut and across the Nation would not have 
access to critically needed protections and many more American families 
would be facing foreclosure.
  I agree with Chairman Dodd that it is important that persons and 
entities acquiring properties by foreclosure follow the law, and that 
tenant families obtain the benefits the law was intended to provide.
  I also agree with Chairman Dodd's statement of the intent of the 
legislation. As the chairman stated, the law was intended to provide 
all bona fide tenants, who began renting prior to transfer of title by 
foreclosure of their rental property, be given at least 90 days' notice 
before being required to vacate the property. In addition, these bona 
fide tenants are allowed to remain in place for the remainder of any 
leases entered into prior to the transfer of title by foreclosure. 
These leases may be terminated earlier only if the property is 
transferred to someone who intends to reside in the property and only 
if the tenants are given at least 90 days' notice of the fact of such 
sale. Successors in interest to properties with section 8 housing 
choice voucher tenants automatically assume the obligations of the 
former owner under the Housing Assistance Payments contract.
  Both the Federal Reserve and the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development have acted quickly to issue notifications to the entities 
that they regulate describing the law in the same way. Their 
notifications stated how regulated institutions are expected to comply 
with the terms of the act. These regulatory actions are crucial for the 
proper implementation of the act because foreclosing entities, who 
often wind up owning the properties after the foreclosure, have a 
responsibility to obey the law. Families in these precarious 
circumstances should not be forced individually to assert their rights 
under the law.
  Mr. DODD. I agree with Senator Kerry. Again, I thank the Senator for 
bringing the original legislation forward and working with me to enact 
it. I look forward to working with Senator Kerry and all my colleagues 
to ensure that families' rights under the law are known and protected.

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