As a landlord tenant attorney who has performed many standard evictions in Sarasota and Manatee county, I get many calls regarding interesting situations from potential clients. These calls usually involve discussing the removal of guests, subtenants, significant others, squatters, section 8 tenants, etc – you name it, I’ve probably had to evict it.
In the wake of the foreclosure crisis I have received many calls from purchasers of foreclosed property through foreclosure auctions and tax deed auctions about removing occupants from their newly acquired property. I have removed people from foreclosed properties and tax deed properties as well, and today I am going to write a little on the process specifically for evicting residents from foreclosed properties.
The Protecting Tenants in Foreclosure Act
The Protecting Tenants in Forclosure Act (PTIFA) sunsetted (ended) December 31, 2014. Property owners no longer need to abide by the PTIFA.
Understand that there is actually a Federal law in place called the Protecting Tenants in Foreclosure Act designed to protect legitimate tenants who are caught in the wake of a foreclosure. Many times the people living in these foreclosed properties are actually legitimate tenants. The Protecting Tenants in Foreclosure Act (PTIFA) is designed to protect tenants in those exact circumstances. Understanding the Act is key to understanding how to remove illegitimate tenants, and failure to follow the Act can find you in big trouble and in violation of Federal law.
The basic idea of the PTIFA is that it allows legitimate tenants with written leases to live out their leases after foreclosure. They still need to pay the rent to the new owner of the property, but they will be allowed to live out their lease. If they don’t have a written lease, or there was a written lease but it expired, then they are allowed to stay for 90 days (and continue to pay rent).
If they aren’t legitimate tenants, then they can usually be removed in a matter of weeks.
How to Identify and Remove Illegitimate Tenants
The first step is to reach out to the occupants of the house. Usually the new owner of the property has already tried to contact the occupants prior to calling me. If the conversation doesn’t go well then they start looking for a lawyer. If the conversation does go well they can learn how the tenant has possession (eg, a written lease, an oral lease, etc), and what the occupants goals are. In that case we can usually negotiate the tenant’s departure from the property without the need for litigation.
Sometimes the occupants will tell the purchasers that they won’t provide any information, refuse to leave or pay any rent, etc. In that case I send the occupants a letter demanding that they identify themselves and provide me with a written lease. I have the letter served by a process server and give the occupants a certain amount of time to respond. If they fail to respond, then I petition the Court through the Foreclosure case stating that people who are not bonafide tenants under the Protecting Tenants in Foreclosure Act are remaining on the property, and I can usually get an order from the Court granting the new owners possession through the foreclosure case.
Best case scenario I have had illegitimate occupants removed in as little as 4 weeks – which is about how long a regular eviction takes. Of course in the world of civil litigation there are no guarantees. You never know what exactly will happen and it can sometimes get a little tricky. But illegitimate tenants will not be allowed to stay on foreclosed property forever.
Evicting Tenants After Foreclosure – Final Thoughts
I hope that this article gave you some ideas as to how illegitimate tenants are removed from foreclosed property in Florida. As a landlord tenant and real estate litigation attorney in Sarasota, I deal with these kinds of situations frequently. It is my pleasure to share some thoughts on the subject with you. If you would like to discuss your case further I invite you to call my office at 941-882-4367 or visit my contact page to reach out.
Dan Policastro is an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Florida. Dan represents individuals and businesses in Divorce and Family law, Commercial and Business Litigation, Real Estate Litigation, Corporate law, and Intellectual Property Law matters from his office in Venice, Florida. Learn more about Dan by reading his about page.
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