Senate Bill S3913

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S3913

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend the real property actions and proceedings law, in
relation to requiring service of notice of foreclosure upon all
tenants of the building to be foreclosed upon and to amend the real
property law, in relation to requiring an updated list of tenants
within mortgaged property


 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :
Requires the service of notice of foreclosure upon all tenants of the
building to be foreclosed upon all tenants of the building to be
foreclosed upon and requires a current list of tenants to be
maintained.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :
Section one the real property actions and proceedings law is amended
by add a new section 1303-a to read as follows: §1303-a.
Foreclosures; notice to tenants. 1. Not later than ten days after
commencing the non-judicial proceeding by filing the notice of
pendency pursuant to section fourteen hundred three of this chapter,
and not less than ten days prior to the first service of the notice of
sale pursuant to section fourteen hundred six of this chapter, the
foreclosing party shall serve upon each listed tenant, as prescribed
by section two hundred sixty-two of the real property, a copy of the
              

notice of pendency, together with a notice of intention of
foreclosure, in writing complying with subdivisions two and three of
this section.  2. The notice required by this section shall be in
bold, fourteen point type And the title of the notice shall be in
bold, twenty-point type. The notice of foreclosure shall be on its own
page. 3. The notice required by this section shall appear as follows:
Help for Tenants Occupying a Foreclosure Property New York State Law
requires that we send this notice to you this notice about the
foreclosure process. Please read it carefully. You are currently
occupying a property which is in danger of foreclosure, you may lose
your home.  You should immediately contact an attorney or your local
legal aid office to obtain advice on how to protect yourself. The
State encourages you to become informed about your options as a
tenant, during a foreclosure. In addition to seeking assistance from
an attorney or legal aid office, there are government agencies and
non-profit organizations that you may contact for information about
possible options. To locate an entity near you, you may call the
toll-free helpline maintained by the New York State Banking Department
at 1-877-BANK-NYS (1-877-226-5697) or visit the Department's website
at http://www.banking.state.ny.us. 4. The banking department shall
post on its website or otherwise make readily available the name and
contact information of government agencies or non-profit organizations
that may be contacted for information about the foreclosure process,
including maintaining a toll-free helpline to disseminate the
information required by this section.

§2. The Real property law is amended by adding a new section 262 to
read as Follows: § 262. List of tenants. Any person or persons owning
real property or an interest in real property which is subject to a
mortgage must identify any person or persons in actual physical
possession of such property by mailing a copy of the lease by
certified mail to the mortgagee within ten days of entering or
renewing a lease. Such mortgagee must maintain an updated list of any
person in physical possession of the mortgaged property.

 EXISTING LAW :
New Bill.

 JUSTIFICATION :

In light of the state's financial crisis and the numerous foreclosures
in and around the state, not only residential homeowners but those
property owners using their properties solely for the purpose of
income have found themselves foreclosed upon. Unfortunately those
tenants renting are not always given the same or even fair notice of
the need to find new lodging. In many cases the owner of the
property/properties continues to collect rental monies and many times
even escapes without returning security deposits these tenant finds
themselves evicted from their residences after the allotted
foreclosure eviction time and with no way to look or to finance a new
residence leaving them homeless. It is our hope that closer tracking
of properties used expressly for rental property income will assist in
alleviating this growing problem.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
New.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
To be determined.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect June 1, 2009 and apply to foreclosure
actions and leases commenced on or after such date; provided however,
that effective immediately the promulgation of any rules, regulations
or actions necessary for the timely implementation of the provisions
of this act are hereby authorized.