Compromise legislation was passed to allow some TIC owners to convert their units to condominium.

Eight members of the Board of Supervisors voted to allows some TIC owners to convert their units to condominiums, but will shut down the conversion lottery until 2024.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is advocating vacancy control in rental properties, limiting the rent increases on vacated properties to 10% above what the previous tenants paid. She admits that she stole the policy from the Social Democrats in advance of the election there.

Wells Fargo has agreed to pay $42 million to settle claims that the bank failed to maintain their foreclosed properties in minority communities, while taking better care of foreclosed properties in majority white communities.

The Chicago City Council has passed legislation that would require foreclosing lenders to either provide tenants residing at the property a new lease or, alternatively, pay their relocation expenses.

Randy Shaw writes that unions bankrolling Democrats in the State Legislature no longer require that tenants rights issues be part of the progressive platform.

Tenants Together Executive Director Dean Preston reports on the failure of Democrats in the State Legislature to support protection of tenants' security deposits.

State Senator Mark Leno has proposed legislation that would provide greater protections for tenants seeking the return of their security deposits. Landlords would be required to pay interest on deposits, and would face mandatory damages if they were found to have withheld security deposits wrongfully. TT Executive Director Dean Preston is quoted in the article.

Tenants in California often lose their security deposits simply because landlords don't return them as required by law. A new law would require that landlords pay interest on deposits, and provide mandatory damages for landlords who illegally withhold deposits.

Rent control has become an issue in Montana, where the oil boom has led to rent increases that are forcing out longtime residents.

Tenants in a foreclosed Illinois property are living without utilities, and have been forced to spend their own funds to make emergency repairs.

A new Alliance for Justice report details the disproportionate effect of foreclosures on minority communities.

Tenant advocates in Los Angeles are supporting Eric Garcetti over Wendy Greuel in the Mayoral election there. Greuel has received substantial support from landlord and developer groups.

Rent control maintains diverse and healthy communities, and protects tenants from real estate speculation.

The Arizona Legislature has passed a bill requiring that landlords tell tenants if their rental is going into foreclosure. The bill now goes to the Governor.

Mobile home tenants in Lake County are proposing legislation that would establish rent control for mobile home parks in Lakeport, and in Lake County.

The Santa Monica Rent Board is considering an increase in the unit fees for rent-controlled properties. The Board will also consider splitting the cost between landlords and tenants. Presently tenants pay the entire fee.

Thousands of tenants have faced eviction in San Francisco in the last year. More than 100 of them were Ellis Act evictions.

A new report by Tenants Together finds that a majority of tenants lose some or all of their security deposits improperly. In addition, landlords are seldom held accountable for withholding deposits without cause.

The Berkeley City Council is considering legislation that would prohibit smoking in all multi-unit housing in the city.

Even in states with strong Democratic control of state legislatures, getting legislation to protect tenants' rights passed is very difficult. Many Democrats receive substantial contributions from the real estate industry.

Legislation to protect tenants in foreclosed properties and keep foreclosed properties occupied passed a committee of the Chicago City Council, but will not be submitted to the full City Council until after June 5.

Mortgage bankers oppose legislation proposed by Chicago's Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the City Council that would provide tenants relocation assistance or a long-term rent-controlled lease after the property is foreclosed.

Supporters of an Chicago ordinance to prevent tenant evictions after foreclosure report that crime has increased in vacant buildings, even as the overall crime rate has fallen.

Urban Green is again seeking to evict long-term tenants in order to convert rent-controlled units to TICs. Several of the tenants threatened with eviction are elderly or disabled.

Chicago legislators are considering an ordinance that would require lenders to pay tenants $12,000 if they want tenants to vacate foreclosed properties.

A judge refused to dismiss a suit against Deutsche Bank for failing to maintain properties it has taken in foreclosure. The bank claims that the servicers are responsible for the properties.

Richard Mullen, who helped Goldman Sachs profit from the collapse of the housing bubble, is investing in foreclosed properties, again backed by Goldman Sachs.

Tenants in a foreclosed apartment complex were served with a Writ of Possession, giving them only four days to move. Occupy Lincoln and other community support forced Fannie Mae to delay the evictions.

Santa Monica's Rent Board has delayed making a decision that would allow the closure of a trailer park with 99 rent-controlled units. The Board is concerned that the replacement units will not fully compensate for the units lost.

Five years after Tenants Together complained about the violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the FTC has issued warning letters to several "tenant screening" websites.

The regional government of Andalusia has passed new legislation to protect victims of foreclosure from eviction for three years.

The Minneapolis City Council is attempting to craft and ordinance that would force landlords to maintain their properties without revoking the landlords' licenses. Revoking the license closes down the building and forces tenants to move. Some investors who bought foreclosed properties, in particular, are having problems maintaining their buildings.

A 97-year-old tenant is in danger of losing her home, as Urban Green Investments seeks to convert the building she lives in to TIC ownership.

Tenants at the Tioga Apartments in Merced are disputing their "pay or quit" notices, stating that they have receipts showing that they paid the rent. Merced police are investigating possible embezzlement by an employee of the building management company. Tenants Together is assisting the tenants.

Tenants in a Merced apartment building are being served with "pay or quit" notices demanding payment of rent they don't owe. The problem may be that one of the building's managers was allegedly embezzling funds from the management company.

Santa Monica rents have climbed to $3,000 a month, as vacancy decontrol allows landlords to increase rents when tenants move. Rents have risen much more quickly than the rate of inflation.

Critics are concerned that Blackstone, one of the large investment groups in the US, in Sacramento's single-family rental market will have negative consequences for the housing market there. TT Executive Director is interviewed for the article.

California tenants have new rights when their landlords face foreclosure.

Large investors--hedge funds and the like--are no longer buying foreclosed houses as rentals, as prices have risen for foreclosed properties. Small investors are still in the market, however.

Some investor-dominated markets, including San Diego and Riverside in California, are seeing reduced rents for single-family rentals. Investors purchased a large number of homes after the bubble collapsed, and dominate the market in some areas.

The City Controller has issued a report saying that TIC units that are converted to condominium should be subject to rent control if they are rented out.

Community groups and legal services' organizations are suing to stop the consolidation of eviction courts to five courthouses in Los Angeles County. The litigants argue that this would make it impossible for many tenants to defend themselves in court.

Rent-controlled tenants in San Francisco will be forced to pay the entire cost of seismic upgrades for their buildings, but will be able to apply for hardship exemptions.

A proposed San Francisco ordinance would allow TIC (tenants-in-common) owners to convert their units to condominiums and permanently remove them from rent control protections.

Authors of a new study on foreclosures argues that building large, single-family homes contributed to the foreclosure crisis in many communities, as people did not have other housing alternatives. Sacramento CA was one of the cities studied.

Investors are purchasing thousands of houses across the country, and this may not be good for the housing market in the long run.

A landlord facing foreclosure had installed illegal partitions to increase the number of rooms in his units. Section 8 tenants who live at the property may be forced to move because the units are, in fact, too small for their families. The Housing Authority there failed to inspect the units before allowing tenants to move in.

The federal sequester cuts will have a major impact on subsidized housing tenants in Los Angeles. Tenants may be forced out of the program, and many will become homeless.

Proposed earthquake retrofit legislation would allow landlords to pass through the entire cost of the remedial work to tenants, even though landlords would reap the greatest benefit.

Boston investors have purchased foreclosed properties at bargain-basement prices and are seeking to increase rents on existing tenants at the properties.

Irish bankers are foreclosing on buy-to-let investors there at a faster rate. One problem with foreclosure and eviction in Ireland is the cultural taboo resulting from the forced evictions during the Irish Famine of the 1840s.

Landlords are attempting to pass through the cost of quake-safety retrofits, even though the upgrades primarily increase the value of the properties.

Housing investors are buying up single-family homes and renting them out. Many of the investor groups are funded by the same banks that helped inflate the housing bubble.

A new report finds that minority borrowers were more likely to receive dangerous mortgages issued by Wells Fargo. A link to the report is contained in the source article.

A number of community and legal service groups are suing the Los Angeles Superior Court to stop the closure of courthouses in various Los Angeles cities, as this will make it difficult for low-income, elderly and disabled tenants to file and defend against court actions.

Demonstrators protested foreclosures in Minneapolis neighborhoods by Wells Fargo Mortgage. The foreclosures have left houses unoccupied, and some have been taken over by drug dealers

Legal advocates are suing Los Angeles Superior Court over its decision to move eviction cases to one of only five courthouses in the county. The advocates argue that low-income, disabled, and elderly tenants would not be able to travel to those courthouses from other areas of the county, thus preventing them from defending themselves.

Rhode Island politicians are discussing a "just cause" eviction bill for tenants in foreclosed properties there. Last year a similar bill passed the Rhode Island House of Representatives, but failed in the State Senate.

With the support of local activists, a homeless Minneapolis woman has moved into a vacant, foreclosed home there. The community groups are hoping that this will encourage the re-use of foreclosed properties as affordable housing.

Tenants in a New York apartment building get caught between two "owners" of their building. New York City's Housing Court was able to help them keep their homes.

Preservationists and housing activists in New York City's Greenwich Village are concerned that a mansion conversion there will eliminate affordable housing there.

Community organizations and unions have been working to stop evictions of homeowners in foreclosed properties.

Fresno County is one of only two counties in California where the government warns tenants that the property in which they live may be going into foreclosure. The Fresno Assessor provides information for both homeowners and tenants in distressed properties.

Investors are purchasing foreclosures in bulk, renting them at high rents, and limiting the supply of for-sale properties.

North Dakota's landlord-tenant laws aren't adequate to deal with many rental disputes, and there is little help for tenants there.

Criminal rent laws in Arkansas have been criticized by Human Rights Watch.

The decision to reduce the number of courts hearing eviction cases will have a detrimental impact on low-income tenants, as they will have to travel long distances to the court hearing their cases. In some cases tenants would have to take public transportation from the San Fernando Valley to Santa Monica for a hearing.

If San Francisco allows the conversion of TICs to condominiums, rent-controlled units could be permanently decontrolled. The full interview is available on KALW's website.

With the improvement in the housing market, developers are once again trying to convert rental units to condominiums. One factor in encouraging condo conversions is the development of new public transit stations.

Government officials in Alameda are concerned about rent increases for low- and moderate-income tenants in a building there. But there's little they can do, as Alameda has no local rent legislation.

Wendy Greuel is highlighting the endorsement of a landlord group in the Mayoral campaign.

Florida's Legislature is looking at a bill that would provide for criminal penalties for leasing a property in foreclosure. Such a law would be very difficult to enforce, critics argue.

Santa Monica's Rent Control Board is planning to increase the fee for unit registration. In Santa Monica the total cost can be passed on to tenants.

San Francisco's TIC owners are not in financial straits, and allowing conversion of TICs to condominiums only reduces the supply of controlled rental property there.

Human Rights Watch has condemned the landlord-tenant laws in Arkansas that allow landlords to have tenants jailed if they do not pay their rent or move within 10 days of receiving notice. HRW notes that, in addition to being fundamentally unfair to tenants, landlords frequently abuse the law, in collusion with corrupt public officials.

A New York landlord is encouraging his long-term tenants to leave their single-room units to enable him to collect $3,000 a month for housing New York City's homeless. The City pays for these units, rather than construct new low-income housing.

A Texas woman has been given a 10-days' notice to vacate by her California landlord after complaining about raw sewage in her back yard. Other tenants are afraid to speak up, fearing that they too would be evicted.

Many long-term San Francisco tenants are being driven from their homes by Ellis Act evictions, which allow landlords to then sell their properties as TICs.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has again vetoed legislation that would enable municipalities to buy foreclosed properties and maintain them as affordable housing. Governor Christie wants to use foreclosure relief monies to plug holes in New Jersey's state budget.

Real estate investors from San Clemente are evicting families from an apartment building in Isla Vista, and renting the units to students from UC Santa Barbara. The investors are violating the notice requirements of county and state laws in the conduct of the evictions.

Legislation that would permit the conversion of some 2,000 TIC units to condominiums has been put off to the end of February.

Newly elected Supervisor London Breed will have to decide whether to protect rent control or vote in the interests of her developer backers for legislation to allow condo conversion of some 2,000 tenants-in-common (TIC) units.

Concord mobile home tenants are angered by an Administrative Law Judge's decision that requires tenants to pay a retroactive rent increase. Some tenants have had to take out loans to make the payment.

Candidates for the Los Angeles City Council's District 13 have failed to address the affordable housing crisis there.

A Newberry Springs woman faces eviction after her landlord, who had a reverse mortgage on the property, died. She is 99 years old, and California's Department of Aging has been unable to find her replacement housing.

Proposed legislation would allow some 2,000 TIC (tenants-in-common) units to bypass the City's limits on condominium conversions, and thus be removed from rent control protections.

Tenants in Malden MA are working to prevent a former homeowner from being evicted from their home by Fannie Mae. Another unit in the building is occupied by tenants, and the former homeowner is willing to pay rent. This violates Fannie Mae's stated rules, which allow both former homeowners and tenants to remain in the property while it is up for sale. City Life/Vida Urbana is working with the tenant group.

Mayoral candidate Wendy Greuel wants to return responsibility for rental housing inspection to the Department of Building and Safety. In 1997 responsibility for such inspections were taken from the Department because of its poor record, and moved the inspection program to the city's Housing Department.

Two candidates for Mayor in Los Angeles have been criticized by tenant activists for their lack of commitment to protect the rights of tenants and affordable housing.

The family rented a house in South Florida sight unseen, only to discover that the house had serious building code violations, and was in foreclosure.

Investor groups are picking up thousands of foreclosed homes to hold as rentals until the for sale market improves.

San Francisco housing activists aren't willing to let Wells Fargo Bank off the hook for their foreclosure policies, even though the federal government has settled with the bank.

The Richmond City Council will be looking at the Housing Element of the General Plan, which includes proposals for rent control and "just cause" eviction. Fifty percent of Richmond residents rent their homes.

Foreclosures have negative effects on communities, which go far beyond the effects on individual tenants and homeowners.

Locksmiths in the Spanish city of Pamplona are refusing to change the locks when homeowners are ousted from their homes after foreclosure.

San Francisco rents now average $3,000 a month, far more than most San Franciscans can afford to pay.

Three Georgia counties are suing HSBC, claiming that the bank discriminated against minority buyers, steering them to risky mortgage products.

A Florida grandmother describes the experience of being evicted from a Florida rental in violation of the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act after the rental suffered foreclosure.

Cleveland developer Graham Vesey, who ran against Dennis Kucinich and Marcy Kaptur for Congress in 2012, receiving 2% of the vote, has served eviction notices at one of his properties, demanding that the tenants vacate by January 15.