State Senator Mattie Hunter recently saw legislation she sponsored, Senate Bill 56, signed into law. The new law provides protections for tenants living in foreclosed buildings.

“Tenants shouldn’t be forced from their homes because of an irresponsible landlord,” Hunter said. “This measure gives families rights if the property they are renting is repossessed by the bank or sold.”

Currently, tenants living in foreclosed properties are protected under federal law, but those protections are set to sunset in 2014. An owner who acquires a property in a foreclosure proceeding can evict a tenant only at the end of the lease or, if there is no lease, with 90 days’ notice. If the new owner intends to use the property as his or her primary residence, he or she may terminate the lease but must give 90 days’ notice. A bank foreclosing on a rental property also must inform tenants of where they should pay their rent.

The new law takes effect immediately.