Foreclosure

questions & answers

Question: I rented a property and signed the lease april 2012. I moved in june 2012, I recieved notice the property was going to be sold in auction in october, 2012. can i recover my deposit

Answer: If the property is going up for auction, likely the person who you were renting the property from no longer owns it, and the property is now bank-owned. Generally, if the bank owns the property, the tenant does not need to continue paying rent to the previous landlord. However, under the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009, (http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2009/fil09056a.pdf) if a property is foreclosed on, the new purchaser has to give the tenant of the property (if the tenant isn't the former owner of the property) at least 90 days notice to vacate the property. You may want to contact the bank which is foreclosing on the property, provide them with a copy of your lease and your last 3 months rent checks, and work with them on an agreeable move-out date. If you decide to leave before the auction takes place. "Unless the rental agreement fixes a definite term, the tenancy shall be week-to-week in case of a roomer who pays weekly rent, and in all other cases month-to-month. " A.R.S. § 33-1341 Depending on how you are defined under the law and how long you have been renting, will determine what kind of notice you will need to give your landlord. Whether or not you will be able to recieve your deposit will be determined by the landlord and how the premises looks when you leave. Your landlord may deduct from your security deposit any unpaid rent that you may owe, as well as any other charges that your rental agreement specifically allows your landlord to collect from you.(A.R.S. §33-1321(D)) (http://www.azleg.state.az.us/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/33/01321.htm&Title=33&DocType=ARS) . After deducting these amounts, your landlord must return any remaining money from your security deposit to you. Any amount that you pay as a deposit is refundable at the end of your tenancy UNLESS IT IS SPECIFICALLY DESIGNATED IN WRITING AS NON-REFUNDABLE. A.R.S. §33-1321(B). (http://www.azleg.state.az.us/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/33/01321.htm&Title=33&DocType=ARS) A form entitled "Request for Return of Security Deposit" (http://www.azlawhelp.org/documents/returnsecurity_dep.pdf ) can be mailed to the landlord at the end of the lease in order to request the return of a security deposit. Within 14 days of sending your Request for Return of Security Deposit, excluding weekends and holidays, your landlord must provide you with an itemized list of all charges that he or she intends to deduct from your security deposit, and the balance of your security deposit. Your landlord must mail this itemized list of charges to the address that you specified in your request, or to your last known address if you fail to provide a forwarding address. A.R.S. §33-1321(D). Whether a move-out inspection is conducted or not, after moving your belongings and cleaning, take pictures to document the condition of the apartment. You may also want to invite a friend over as a witness to the condition of the apartment.