Las Vegas NowRenters Hurt from Foreclosures

Renters Hurt from Foreclosures

The foreclosure crisis has lots of victims -- home owners and even renters. Renters are often the innocent victims of all this when they don't realize their landlord has been foreclosed on.

At the Palmilla Condominiums in North Las Vegas, many renters recently received a notice of default. But legal experts say there's not a one size fits all answer of what to do if the property you are living in is going into foreclosure.

When residents at Palmilla began receiving default notices, they were very concerned.

Check if your house is in foreclosure

"It was shocking. I didn't really want to move," said Green Evans.

The documents say the owner owes the lender $27 million.

Attorney Assly Sayyar specializes in landlord-tenant issues. Sayyar says foreclosure notices do not necessarily give you the right to stop paying your rent, and what to do next could depend on what's in your lease.

"Does your lease cover this situation? Is there is a provision in there that says, 'In the event that this property is going into foreclosure, these are your rights, these are your remedies?' Problem is a lot of leases and rental agreements are completely silent on that point," said Sayyar.

But in many cases, tenants don't know the property they are living in is being foreclosed upon until they receive a knock at the door from the constable and are given an eviction notice.

"From the tenant's standpoint they can't believe this is happening to them," said Las Vegas Justice Court Chief Judge Ann Zimmerman.

Judge Zimmerman says these cases are all too common, but current law only gives judges leeway to extend the time a renter has to move out by just 10 days, "The most we can do under the law currently is give them extra time to move. I had a case last year of a lady who rented three different places in 2008, all foreclosed upon."

So how can you protect yourself both before and during your lease?

"We are trying to encourage people to check the Assessor's web site before you rent a property to make sure it is not in foreclosure, and to keep checking it," said Judge Zimmerman.

And checking those public databases is completely free.