Here's a scary number: Over 200,000 California tenants are directly affected by the rise in foreclosures. A report released yesterday -- "California Tenants in the Foreclosure Crisis" -- says that at least 37% of residential units in foreclosure in California were rentals, while the largest percentage of foreclosures were single-family homes.

The unfair and unnecessary displacement of tenants at the hands of banks is affecting communities across the state on a devastating scale.These tenants are the hidden victims of the foreclosure crisis which they did not have a hand in creating. Most of the blame goes to bad home loans from shady financial institutions.
Like putting a Band-Aid on an amputation, a new federal law increases the eviction notice period to 90 days. While this is a step in the right direction, it does nothing to provide longterm security for tenants during the housing crisis.

One bright side is the organization called Tenants Together. The group not only reports on the human impact of the foreclosure crisis but also operates California's only hotline for tenants in foreclosure situations. Californians caught in this bind can call the Tenant Foreclosure Hotline toll free at 1-888-495-8020 or start the query process online at www.tenantstogether.org/hotlineintake.

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More than 200,000 tenants were displaced last year as a result of residential foreclosures in California, according to a report released by Tenants Together, a statewide organization for renters' rights.

The group, which works to protect and expand tenant rights, found that 77,145 of the 211,154 residential units in foreclosure in California last year, or 37%, were rentals. That includes single-family homes, condominiums and multifamily buildings.

"Tenants are innocent and hidden victims of a foreclosure crisis they did nothing to create," said Gabe Treves, program coordinator and author of the report.

The 2010 report discusses recent developments facing tenants of foreclosed properties and analyzes data from 2009.

In Fresno County, 5,562 renters were affected by rental-unit foreclosures. Another 6,700 renters were affected in Kings, Madera, Merced and Tulare counties.

The report also found that there was a 3% decrease in the rate of foreclosures of single-family homes between 2008 and 2009, while there was a 70% increase in the rate of foreclosures for multifamily buildings.