Bob is 23, fresh out of college and now works for a major Chicago law firm’s IT department. Though things have evened out for him in the past few weeks, Bob had to endure one of the worst scenarios in apartment living—breaking up with his live-in girlfriend.

 What Happened

After his college graduation, Bob stuck around home and tried to find an apartment. Luckily, his girlfriend Alyssa already moved into the area to attend school. After about three months, Bob decided to make it official and move in. 

The lease and the bills, however, were all in her name.

“At this apartment complex it was a big deal,” says Bob. “We both had to go in and sign on a revised lease; I couldn’t have a separate contract. We had to work it all out when it was convenient for them, too. Sometimes it’s a big hassle to change the lease agreements.”

Perhaps it was a harbinger of things to come. Alas, as in many relationships, living together wasn’t the greatest idea. The two fought constantly, worked separate hours and drifted along until the inevitable breakup.

The Split

Though breakups are never fun, it became even harder when Alyssa moved out one day while Bob was at work. Despite taking most of their possessions (including the ice cube trays) she left some loose ends … such as the lease and the bills.

“First, the complex wouldn’t change the locks because her name was still on the lease,” says Bob. “But what really disappointed me was that they said they’ve had situations like this before but they didn’t have any documentation or ways on how to handle what happens next. I found that hard to believe. It was just really unprofessional. I basically had to create my own agreement post-breakup with Alyssa, get it notarized and then bring it back to them.

“Maybe not signing the lease over was maybe a plan B for her. So if things got better between us she could just move back in. But I insisted on getting her off the lease. The way it happened, I just said, ‘You need to sign this over.’ I just wanted it done. She moved out and kept the key. What sucks is that we had the same mailbox. So she started forwarding her mail back home and the Postmaster must’ve gotten confused because I didn’t get any mail. There’s still about two and a half weeks of my mail floating around somewhere.”

Getting the electric and the other utility bills over to his name wasn’t a hassle at all, according to Bob. ComEd ran a credit check, removed her from the bill and put Bob’s name on it. It was relatively easy as well to switch over the water, cable and gas services. The rest of the loose ends, however, took a whole month.

“[We were] just arguing, not communicating directly. And I can’t blame it all on her because I got hostile after she moved out,” says Bob.

Bob still feels some lingering animosity towards the way the situation ended.

“She didn’t steal anything, really,” says Bob. “She returned stuff that was taken. Eventually. She had her family help her move out and they just boxed stuff up. Kind of funny how they didn’t lift a finger to help her move in, but boy they sure helped moving her out. I thought it was kind of low that I wasn’t there to help supervise what was going. It would have been nice to say ‘hey, I know we bought that together, but could I hang onto that?”

If there’s one thing Bob learned from this experience, it’s this: get it on paper.

“There are tons of documents out there on Google if you want to make small agreements,” says Bob. “It seems…rude to ask for your roommate to agree to a contract, but at the same time you can’t worry about that. It saves time and effort if [it] hits the fan and you won’t have to drag your roommate to small claims. Even if you make a verbal agreement, you have to put it in writing.”

Living in a single family home or condo with none of the financial responsibility of a mortgage is a great move for most renters. Benefits like a yard, a garage or custom home features can be great incentives for some to rent a home over an apartment unit. But the past year’s less-than-impressive economy put home rental risks in the spotlight. Many tenants of rental homes or condos got a shock when they found out they were evicted with little time to move out and find a new place. An even bigger shock came when they discovered they had little recourse and few rights to solve the problem.

The Owner’s Responsibility in a Foreclosure

According to Janet Portman, attorney and managing editor of Nolo, a legal resources company, the owner of the home must honor his or her responsibilities to the renter to provide adequate housing.

“Legally, until the owner no longer owns the property, [he or she] has the obligation that every landlord has to honor the lease or rental agreement,” says Portman.

But many landlords and owners may not keep up with maintenance responsibilities once they learn the house will go into foreclosure.

“What you’re seeing [are] owners who have very little incentive to fix the roof or maintain the properties because they know they’re losing them,” says Portman. “There’s the legal obligation, and the reality is that many owners simply are not taking care of business because they figure they’re going to lose it soon anyway and why bother.”

The problem in some foreclosure situations is that the owner does not notify his or her tenant. When the bank in ownership of the home decides to sell the home, the renter will often find an eviction notice saying he or she needs to be out of the home within days or weeks. Otherwise, the bank becomes the new owner and may or may not hire a property management company  to handle the tenant’s issues.

The Renter’s Rights in a Foreclosure

In a foreclosure situation, renters have few rights, unfortunately.

“If you signed your lease after the mortgage was recorded and that mortgage gets foreclosed upon, you lose your lease,” says Portman.

According to Portman, the exception to this general rule is those who have Section 8 housing and those who have rent control protection.

Tenants who rent private housing using Section 8 vouchers have an addition to their lease that states the lease term cannot be terminated unless there are obvious misbehaviors such as not paying rent, breaking the law or not taking proper care of the unit.

Many of those with rent control have leases with just-cause eviction protection. This means they cannot be forced to leave by the owner or the bank after foreclosure. The exception is if the renter has done something to warrant an eviction, just like those in Section 8 housing. A change in ownership due to a foreclosure is not a listed reason on most justifications for removing a tenant from a rent-controlled property.

In addition, renters who were in place before the mortgage of the current owner was signed also have rights.

 “If the lease pre-dates the recording of the mortgage – in other words, if [the renter] was on the scene with that landlord before the landlord put up the property as collateral for a loan, and he defaults on the loan, then those [renters] survive,” says Portman.

However, it is possible that renters in this situation could have a clause in the lease taking away the right to remain in the property.

What You Can Do In Future Leases to Protect Yourself

Before you sign your next lease from a private-property owner, there are strategies you can employ to make sure you don’t end up temporarily homeless in a foreclosure situation.

 “Your landlord’s going to check your credit … if they have any sense they’re going to do some pretty thorough screening before they let you in,” says Portman. “There is absolutely no reason why you can’t do some of the same.”

 When discussing the lease with the owner, feel free to mention that you want assurance that you will not have to leave due to a foreclosure. You may ask the owner which bank owns the mortgage and ask for confirmation directly from the bank that the property owner is current on their payments.

 In addition, you can ask for a clause in the lease that states the property owner will reimburse you for any moving costs incurred when forced to leave the property because of foreclosure.

 “Somebody who’s current [on their mortgage] is not going to have a problem [giving out mortgage information],” says Portman. “Someone who is on the edge is going to have a problem and if you find someone who, in a loose market, is refusing to give you that information, [it’s] a red flag because it tells you that they are close to soon having trouble.”

Renters’ rights vary from state to state. For a more comprehensive listing of each state’s laws pertaining to renters, select a state on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s site. Or, check out Nolo.com’s list of Landlord-Tenant statutes listed by state.