Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Bloomberg News Covers our Report and the Plight of California Renters in Foreclosure

Dan Levy and Ari Levy of Bloomberg News have published an important story on renters in foreclosure situations in California. Tenants Together, our recent report (Hidden Impact: California Renters in the Foreclosure Crisis) and callers to our foreclosure hotline were key sources for the story.

The story conveys the shock and hardship experienced by tenants who have never missed a rent payment and yet face eviction, often without legally mandated notice periods. It also highlights the irony that once evictions of renters are complete, many rental properties sit vacant and deteriorate when they could be providing shelter to tenants and generating income to the new owners. Tenants Together has been critical of banks' routinely evicting innocent tenants after forelosure, a practice we view as both immoral and economically irrational. Our position is clearly bolstered by the article. The reporters estimate that some $1 billion in potential annual rent is not being collected because banks don't want to be landlords of the properties they take over in foreclosures.

The article, "California Foreclosures Jeopardize Renters as Banks Seize Homes", begins with the story of Laura Hecox, a caller to our Tenant Foreclosure Hotline from San Diego who was evicted without proper notice. She and her children became homeless as a result of the eviction.

Read the complete story at
Bloomberg News.

1 comment:

  1. For more on this important issue, please see www.SharedEmergency.wordpress.com, and the article about renters caught in the foreclosure trap.

    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete