Back in October of 2009 I received a letter from a property management company telling me that the bank they represented was foreclosing the mortgage on the building I was living in, and that I was to pay them the rent. My landlord at the time confirmed this and I paid this management company the rent for several months. Due to the foreclosure, I wanted to move into a more stable situation, but I had most of a one year lease with the old landlord at the time I was notified of the foreclosure. I did some investigation online and read that after a foreclosure a tenant with a lease becomes a tenant at will automatically. I talked to the management company and they said this was true, and so I gave them a letter terminating my tenancy. I even got it in writing (email from an employee of the company). I thought everything was fine and went and found a new apartment. Then I got a phone call from my former landlord telling me he worked things out with the bank. I told him that I was moving out and he got mad and told me that I had a lease with him and could not get out of it. Where do I stand legally in this situation? I now have a new apartment and a new lease!
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The Editor, Mark Bernardin, is an attorney living in MA. Please send your suggestions or comments to: TheEditor@malawforum.com
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The answers and information provided on this site are for informational purposes only and are NOT substitutes for professional legal advice. Before making legal decisions, you should discuss your specific circumstances with an attorney.

UPDATE
UPDATE:
Under a new Federal law known as the "Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009" Leases should now survive a foreclosure, allowing the tenant to remain in the unit until the end of the lease. There is one exception to this new rule: If the property is sold to a person who intends to live in the unit, then the new owner may terminate a lease with 90 days’ notice.
Those with month to month or tenancy at will agreements are also protected and are now entitled 90 day's notice from the new owner before moving out. Of course even after the notice period expires, no tenant must move until the new owner obtains a court order entitling him to possession of the premises.
Is the former owner who still
Is the former owner who still lives in the house after forclosure still protected with 90 days notice?