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Webinars and Trainings
Free Webinar on Renters in Foreclosure On Wednesday, February 20, 2013 the Law Center hosted a free webinar on renters and the foreclosure crisis. The
webinar discussed findings from the National Law Center on Homelessness &
Poverty's December 2012 report, "Eviction (Without) Notice: Renters and
the Foreclosure Crisis," a report showing how, for many low-income
renters, the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (PTFA) is all that stands
between housing and homelessness. It also includes a nationwide survey of
tenants' rights advocates and renters themselves, showing how often PTFA is
violated, and offers recommendations to better protect renters under the law. With
the number of renters continuing to rise (5.1 million since 2000), and PTFA set
to expire after 2014, this topic is as timely as ever. Protecting Tenants in the Foreclosure Crisis: Working With Constituents On Wednesday, December 14, the Law Center hosted a webinar for Congressional district office staff focused on the rights of renters in foreclosed properties. Focusing on the home offices, which are often a clearinghouse for constituent questions on housing, the program attracted over 200 registered audience members from around the country.
Until the passage of the federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (PTFA) in 2009, tenants were left with few options when their landlords defaulted on their mortgages. With the collapse of the housing market in 2008, millions of renters around the country found themselves at risk of losing their homes through no fault of their own. PTFA guarantees renters in foreclosed properties at least 90 days' notice prior to eviction by a bank or other new owner. Bona fide tenants with written leases have the right to remain in the property until the end of their existing lease periods, which can provide months or even years of additional stability.
In the last few years, state and local legislators across the country have expanded on the federal law to provide even greater protections to renters living in their jurisdictions. The webinar focused on existing federal protections, as well as state policy trends and the recent introduction of the Permanently Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2011. Authored by Representatives Keith Ellison (MN-5) and Pete Stark (CA-13), this bill would make PTFA permanent and empower tenants to bring affirmative lawsuits against banks and other violators through the inclusion of a private right of action.
In addition to Law Center Housing Attorney Geraldine Doetzer, speakers included Carrie Johnson, interim legislative director and legislative counsel for Mr. Ellison (MN-5); Rebecca Lucero, counsel in Mr. Ellison's district office; Sham Manglik, policy analyst with the National Low Income Housing Coalition; and Genevieve Gaboriault, staff attorney and housing policy advocate at the Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis. A copy of the webinar materials is available for download at the NLCHP website. For more information about the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act, contact Housing Attorney Geraldine Doetzer. On the Edge: How HUD Can Improve the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program
The Law Center's policy director Jeremy Rosen, presented the report's central findings. The webinar also featured presenters who are running local programs that use HPRP funds to effectively serve homeless persons, including:
- Christopher Webster, outreach specialist at Lincoln Nebraska Public Schools, who fostered an HPRP collaboration between public schools and a homeless service provider.
-Christian Abasto & Alisa Neary from Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles who manage an eviction protection collaborative that combines legal advocacy and negotiation with landlords to keep tenants from losing their housing.
Click here to view the full webinar. This webinar describes how the federal Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) provides an important opportunity to integrate legal services into homelessness prevention activities and build new collaborative efforts that can result in better client outcomes.
New Legal Protections for Renters in Foreclosed Properties (June 10, 2009) NLCHP, the National Housing Law Project, and the National Low Income Housing Coalition presented this webinar on the recently enacted Tenants in Foreclosure Act.
Sample Letters & Notices Related to Renters in Foreclosure These letters and notices are based on samples created by the National Housing Law Project.
Obtaining Stimulus Funds for Nonprofits (April 1, 2009) The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty provided this webinar training together with the National Alliance to End Homelessness and a representative of HUD to help advocates, service providers, and local government officials understand the requirements and opportunities under the homeless prevention funding authorized by the 2009 economic recovery legislation. Powerpoint presentations are available below:
NIMBY Does your organization provide or plan to provide housing or services for homeless or formerly homeless people? Are you facing (or concerned about facing) community opposition related to the location of the program? |
