California protects tenants in two important ways from summary evictions when their landlord loses title to the property through a foreclosure sale. The first protection requires the new owner to give you 60 days’ notice. You cannot be evicted based on a simple 3-day notice to quit. The requirements of the notice are outlined here. The relevant state statutes are CCP § 1161a, CCP § 1161b, and CCP § 1162.

Effective May 20, 2009, the California law has been superseded by Title VII of President Obama’s Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009, “Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act.” This new law requires a new owner to give bona fide tenants 90 days’ notice to quit the premises prior to suing to evict. The law applies to foreclosure proceedings that began prior to May 20, 2009, but you should consult an attorney if the foreclosure occurred before that date and you are being evicted.

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