CHICAGO – State Senator Napoleon Harris III (D-Chicago) recently saw legislation he sponsored signed into law. The new law provides protections for tenants living in foreclosed buildings.

“Although the economy is on the upswing, the effects of the decline are still being felt by homeowners statewide,” Sen. Harris said.  “Continuing to offer these protections and services to keep people in their homes is imperative to continuing our economic recovery.”

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.