The Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (PTFA) will expire at the end of this month. This is the legislation that protected tenants throughout the country who had the misfortune to live in a foreclosed property. In many states this is the only protection afforded tenants, and its demise would allow the foreclosing lender to unceremoniously evict an unsuspecting tenant with little or no notice. Imagine trying to pack up your house and find a new place to live in 72 hours.
Many states did nothing to provide protections for tenants in foreclosed properties, even though 40% of the households affected by the foreclosure crisis rented their homes. You can check on your state on page 14 of the National Low-Income Housing Coalition's report. If you live in one of the red states and the PTFA is not extended, you will not have the very basic protections of that law. And there is little reason the believe that if State Legislatures would not act during the crisis, that they will suddenly see the light and enact protections for a relatively few tenants.
And to help your fellows, you need only contact your Senators and Representative, asking them to vote to make the PTFA permanent. You should also ask your Representative to co-sponsor the bill to make the PTFA permanent. It will take only a few minutes, and it will give tenants who have the misfortune to live in a foreclosed property basic rights and protections.
