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| To enact section 5321.20 of the Revised Code to | 1 |
| require that notice of foreclosure and related | 2 |
| sale of residential rental property be given to | 3 |
| tenants at that property and to specify that a | 4 |
| rental agreement for a residential property that | 5 |
| is sold pursuant to a foreclosure action converts | 6 |
| to a month-to-month rental agreement. | 7 |
| Section 1. That section 5321.20 of the Revised Code be | 8 |
| enacted to read as follows: | 9 |
| Sec. 5321.20. (A) Any rental agreement for a residential | 10 |
| property that is the subject of a foreclosure action shall | 11 |
| convert to a month-to-month rental agreement upon the approval | 12 |
| of a sale at auction by a court pursuant to section 2329.31 of | 13 |
| the Revised Code. | 14 |
| (B)(1) Any landlord of a residential property that is the | 15 |
| subject of a foreclosure action shall provide each tenant at that | 16 |
| property with written notice of the foreclosure action. The notice | 17 |
| shall include a statement in substantially the following form: | 18 |
| "This property is undergoing foreclosure. For more | 19 |
| information on this action, you should contact the ..........(your | 20 |
| county) Clerk of Courts for the Court of Common Pleas, | 21 |
| ..........(address), at ..........(phone number). | 22 |
| A sale at auction may or may not occur as a result of this | 23 |
| foreclosure. Currently, [the sale of this property has been set | 24 |
| for ..........(time, date, and place)] or [no date for sale of | 25 |
| this property has been established]. You will receive written | 26 |
| notice of the sale at least twenty-one days before it takes | 27 |
| place. | 28 |
| If there is a sale of this property at auction, your current | 29 |
| rental agreement will convert to a month-to-month rental agreement | 30 |
| upon the sale of the property. | 31 |
| Note: With a month-to-month rental agreement, either the | 32 |
| tenant or the landlord may terminate the agreement by providing | 33 |
| written notice of termination to the other at least thirty days | 34 |
| prior to a date on which the rent payment normally is due. The | 35 |
| rental agreement then terminates on that date." | 36 |
| (2) If the rental agreement is entered into before the | 37 |
| foreclosure action is initiated, the landlord shall provide the | 38 |
| written notice of foreclosure within thirty days after the | 39 |
| foreclosure action is filed. If the rental agreement is entered | 40 |
| into after the foreclosure action is initiated, the landlord shall | 41 |
| include the written notice of foreclosure in the rental agreement. | 42 |
| (C) Any landlord of a residential property that is the | 43 |
| subject of a foreclosure action shall provide each tenant at that | 44 |
| property with written notice of the date, time, and place of the | 45 |
| sale of the foreclosed property at least twenty-one days before | 46 |
| the date of the sale at auction. | 47 |
| (D) In addition to any other remedy under law, a tenant may | 48 |
| recover the greater of actual damages or one month's rent plus the | 49 |
| security deposit amount and reasonable attorney's fees, obtain | 50 |
| injunctive relief to enforce the rental agreement, or both, if a | 51 |
| landlord or a successor in interest does either of the following: | 52 |
| (1) Fails to honor a rental agreement as division (A) of this | 53 |
| section requires; | 54 |
| (2) Fails to provide the written notices that divisions (B) | 55 |
| and (C) of this section require. | 56 |
| (E) The rights and remedies provided for in this section are | 57 |
| in addition to, and do not preempt, any other rights and remedies | 58 |
| that a tenant may be entitled to under this chapter. | 59 |