A large number of renters are losing their homes and being displaced due to the current foreclosure crisis. At least 2,500 tenant households are expected to be disrupted by foreclosures in Hennepin County alone this year.

Outcomes

(SF 2908 and SF 2910) that modified the ways foreclosures can impact tenants were signed into law by Governor Pawlenty on April 4^th. These new laws modify the ways landlords who are working through the foreclosure process can structure new leases, and allow tenants to stay in their homes or apartments while landlords go through the mortgage redemption process. Most importantly, however, these new laws alter the ways tenants are cleared of a property during a foreclosure process. Prior to this law, a tenant was evicted by local law enforcement. This eviction became part of the tenant’s permanent criminal record, and made it difficult to find new housing.

These new laws prevent eviction for tenants and expunge the evictions from the records of those who have been removed from the residences due to landlord foreclosure.

HF 3396 was another significant legislative initiative that was passed and sent to the Governor. Under this act, borrowers would have had to receive foreclosure prevention counseling first, and if the lender/servicer refused to renegotiate, then the borrowers would have been eligible for deferment. This bill would have helped as many as 12,000 families. However, it was vetoed by the Governor.