The building in which I rent an apartment is being foreclosed on by the landlord's bank.  I have a lease that runs another nine months.  Will I be able to stay in the apartment after the foreclosure?

Generally speaking, a bank's mortgage will be superior in right to your lease if your lease was signed after the mortgage was put in place.  What happens on a foreclosure is that you become a  tenant at sufferance unless you "attorn" to the purchaser after the auction.  "Attorn" means that you tender rent to the new buyer and they accept your rent and the lease then comes back into full force and effect.  So, it will be important for you, after the foreclosure sale occurs, to find out who the new owner is and to pay your rent to the new owner. 

Given the fact that your tenancy may be interrupted prematurely as a result of which you will have incurred damages, you may want to not pay any rent to anyone at this point in time until you get assurances from your landlord and the bank and/or the buyer of the property that your lease will be honored after the foreclosure sale takes place.


If you have questions about this or any other real estate matter, please contact Tom Bennett at (617) 531-6574 or tvb@barronstad.com.