Dan Levy and Ari Levy of Bloomberg News have published an important story on renters in foreclosure situations in California. Tenants Together, our recent report (Hidden Impact: California Renters in the Foreclosure Crisis) and callers to our foreclosure hotline were key sources for the story.
The story conveys the shock and hardship experienced by tenants who have never missed a rent payment and yet face eviction, often without legally mandated notice periods. It also highlights the irony that once evictions of renters are complete, many rental properties sit vacant and deteriorate when they could be providing shelter to tenants and generating income to the new owners. Tenants Together has been critical of banks' routinely evicting innocent tenants after forelosure, a practice we view as both immoral and economically irrational. Our position is clearly bolstered by the article. The reporters estimate that some $1 billion in potential annual rent is not being collected because banks don't want to be landlords of the properties they take over in foreclosures.
Read the complete story at
Bloomberg News.