Millions of Americans victimized by predatory lending practices have lost their homes to foreclosure, but people who lease their apartments and pay their rent on time each month don't have to worry about being thrown out on the street, right? Wrong, as many renters across America are finding out. Millions of renters face eviction after their landlords default on property loans:
Despite anti-foreclosure initiatives by the government and lenders, the
housing crisis has continued to worsen. Foreclosure notices totaled a
record high of nearly 938,000 in just the third quarter of this year, according to RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure database. The Center for Responsible Lending predicts
a total of 9 million foreclosures by 2012. Vacant and abandoned
foreclosed properties are adding to neighborhood blight problems.
Renters increasingly have become caught as innocent bystanders, evicted
often without notice when their landlord faces foreclosure.
Who is evicting renters from their homes in record numbers? Once again, it is America's Foreclosure King:
More
than 125 apartment buildings in Chicago went into foreclosure each week
of 2009, affecting tenants in more than 20,000 rental units, according
to a new report. …The lender initiating foreclosure actions against the most multi-family
buildings last year was Deutsche Bank, with 591 foreclosure filings,
Here again, Deutsche Bank is taking advantage of the fact that most renters do not know their legal rights in a foreclosure proceeding and most cannot afford legal representation:
Illinois law requires tenants to receive at least 90 days notice before a foreclosure-related eviction can be undertaken.
"The
foreclosure crisis continues unabated and the impact on families in
foreclosures buildings continues to displace renters, often without
warning or return of their security deposits," Kathleen Clark, the
committee's executive director, said in a statement accompanying the
report."Many tenants face eviction from foreclosed buildings
without legal advice or representation and thus fare poorly in the
court system. Chicago tenants need to understand their rights."
