Renters now feel the squeeze of foreclosure pinch
Renters across Florida are being evicted because their landlords aren’t paying the mortgage. Foreclosures have reached a critical high all over the country, but families who don’t even own the homes they live in are suffering.
The Director of Development for the American Apartment Owners Association (AAOA) Dan Page says the association is expanding its services to include a free service for consumers that will assist renters in finding responsible landlords. “People need to be extra careful when choosing a property to rent. This is a very difficult market and it is tempting to rent the first place that fits your needs, but you should be careful,” says Page.
In Santa Rosa County alone there are currently over 35 apartments in foreclosure. This does not include the single residence homes being foreclosed. Although many of these single family homes are lived in by the owners, others are rented to tenants.
The foreclosures of all these homes and apartments are resulting in a new class of homeless families. And now more than ever, these homeless families don’t have the funds required to put down deposits and other associated costs with moving into a new home.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition deems a housing unit as “affordable” if it costs no more than 30% of the renter’s income.
According to Family Promise of Santa Rosa County, in 2005, 39% of renters in Santa Rosa County were unable to afford a two-bedroom unit at fair market rent. Families in the county had to work 72 hours per week at minimum wage to afford a two-bedroom rental unit.
Family Promise estimates the daily homeless count in Santa Rosa County is 7,363 people.
According to the Santa Rosa County Clerk of Court, in 2005 there were 201 foreclosures in the county. In 2006, this number dropped to 196 foreclosures. However, this trend took a sharp climb because in 2007, the Clerk’s office reports 370 foreclosures in Santa Rosa County. The economic situation throughout the country appears to be in crisis and Santa Rosa County is following closely. As of Wednesday, The Clerk of Court has over 301 foreclosures listed for the county, not even six months into the year 2008.
So far, no one the Press Gazette has spoken with officially tracks incidents of landlord foreclosures forcing tenants out, so it is unknown at this time exactly how many people in Santa Rosa County will be forced out into the streets through no fault of their own.
What can one do when faced with eviction because their landlord didn’t pay the bills?
Not much except pack your things says commercial real estate attorney Joe Fazio. “The only true way renters can make sure they don’t get foreclosed out is if their lease is acknowledged by the bank holding the loan on the property, but such agreements, while common for commercial leases, are rarely done for residential properties,” says Fazio.
Page says there are a few things renters can do to protect themselves. “This simple step can help you avoid the heartache of getting evicted because your landlord didn’t pay his bills.
“Check out the name of your new landlord on the county website for foreclosures or call the clerk of court and ask about any prior or current foreclosures he or she may have,” says Page.
According to Karl Klein of the Klein Law Group, renters are often unaware the property they live on is about to be foreclosed. “You may have been notified because a process server gave you a copy of the foreclosure lawsuit or posted a notice on your door. If so, consider yourself fortunate because increasingly more tenants are first finding out when the Sheriff arrives to change the locks and clear the property,” says Klein.
“Many unscrupulous landlords will continue to collect their tenant’s rent payments, even though they know eviction is inevitable and just a few weeks to months away.
“For those tenants, the shock of being forcibly evicted combined with the apparent loss of their security deposit and last month’s rent money, causes anger, embarrassment and rudely disrupts their lives,” says Klein.
Klein says evictions for renters are handled by strict contract law standards and the tenant often has more rights than the landlord. “In many cases, tenants can sue their landlord for breach of contract, possibly harassment and receive many times their monthly rent if they win the law suit,” Klein says.
But all of this depends on whether the landlord will even pay up if he is ordered by a Judge to compensate you.
Before you make a decision on a new home, check with local reputable realtors who have experience managing rental properties and ask them about what happens in the event the property is foreclosed before you sign a lease.
If you are looking at being homeless, contact your local Red Cross or Family Promise of Santa Rosa County at 850-623-5300 to find out what assistance may be available to you.
