| 1 | 1 | | 81R3704 PMO-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Ellis S.B. No. 439 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to a mortgage servicer's notice of sale to a debtor and the |
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| 8 | 8 | | debtor's subsequent notice to tenant. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 24.005(b), Property Code, is amended to |
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| 11 | 11 | | read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (b) If the occupant is a tenant at will or by sufferance, the |
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| 13 | 13 | | landlord must give the tenant at least three days' written notice to |
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| 14 | 14 | | vacate before the landlord files a forcible detainer suit unless |
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| 15 | 15 | | the parties have contracted for a shorter or longer notice period in |
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| 16 | 16 | | a written lease or agreement. If a property is subject to a notice |
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| 17 | 17 | | of foreclosure sale under Section 51.002(b), a debtor who provides |
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| 18 | 18 | | to a tenant a copy of the notice as provided by Section 51.0022 may |
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| 19 | 19 | | require the tenant to vacate the property before the date of the |
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| 20 | 20 | | sale stated in the notice only for failure to pay any rent or other |
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| 21 | 21 | | payment, including a late fee, due under the lease agreement as of |
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| 22 | 22 | | the date the tenant is required to vacate the premises. If a |
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| 23 | 23 | | building is purchased at a tax foreclosure sale or a trustee's |
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| 24 | 24 | | foreclosure sale under a lien superior to the tenant's lease and the |
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| 25 | 25 | | tenant timely pays rent and is not otherwise in default under the |
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| 26 | 26 | | tenant's lease after foreclosure, the purchaser must give a |
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| 27 | 27 | | residential tenant of the building at least 30 days' written notice |
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| 28 | 28 | | to vacate if the purchaser chooses not to continue the lease. The |
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| 29 | 29 | | tenant is considered to timely pay the rent under this subsection |
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| 30 | 30 | | if, during the month of the foreclosure sale, the tenant pays the |
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| 31 | 31 | | rent for that month to the landlord before receiving any notice that |
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| 32 | 32 | | a foreclosure sale is scheduled during the month or pays the rent |
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| 33 | 33 | | for that month to the foreclosing lienholder or the purchaser at |
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| 34 | 34 | | foreclosure not later than the fifth day after the date of receipt |
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| 35 | 35 | | of a written notice of the name and address of the purchaser that |
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| 36 | 36 | | requests payment. Before a foreclosure sale, a foreclosing |
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| 37 | 37 | | lienholder may give written notice to a tenant stating that a |
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| 38 | 38 | | foreclosure notice has been given to the landlord or owner of the |
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| 39 | 39 | | property and specifying the date of the foreclosure. |
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| 40 | 40 | | SECTION 2. Sections 51.002(b) and (g), Property Code, are |
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| 41 | 41 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 42 | 42 | | (b) Except as provided by Subsection (b-1), notice of the |
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| 43 | 43 | | sale, which must include a statement of the earliest time at which |
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| 44 | 44 | | the sale will begin, must be given at least 60 [21] days before the |
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| 45 | 45 | | date of the sale by: |
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| 46 | 46 | | (1) posting at the courthouse door of each county in |
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| 47 | 47 | | which the property is located a written notice designating the |
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| 48 | 48 | | county in which the property will be sold; |
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| 49 | 49 | | (2) filing in the office of the county clerk of each |
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| 50 | 50 | | county in which the property is located a copy of the notice posted |
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| 51 | 51 | | under Subdivision (1); and |
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| 52 | 52 | | (3) serving written notice of the sale by certified |
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| 53 | 53 | | mail on each debtor who, according to the records of the mortgage |
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| 54 | 54 | | servicer of the debt, is obligated to pay the debt. |
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| 55 | 55 | | (g) The entire calendar day on which the notice of sale is |
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| 56 | 56 | | given, regardless of the time of day at which the notice is given, |
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| 57 | 57 | | is included in computing the 60-day [21-day] notice period required |
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| 58 | 58 | | by Subsection (b), and the entire calendar day of the foreclosure |
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| 59 | 59 | | sale is excluded. |
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| 60 | 60 | | SECTION 3. Chapter 51, Property Code, is amended by adding |
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| 61 | 61 | | Section 51.0022 to read as follows: |
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| 62 | 62 | | Sec. 51.0022. NOTICE OF SALE TO TENANT. Not later than the |
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| 63 | 63 | | seventh day after the date a debtor receives a notice of sale under |
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| 64 | 64 | | Section 51.002(b), the debtor shall serve a copy of the notice on |
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| 65 | 65 | | each tenant of the property by any one of the following methods: |
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| 66 | 66 | | (1) personal delivery to the tenant; |
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| 67 | 67 | | (2) certified mail, return receipt requested, to the |
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| 68 | 68 | | tenant; or |
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| 69 | 69 | | (3) leaving the notice inside the dwelling, as defined |
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| 70 | 70 | | by Section 92.001, in a conspicuous place if notice in that manner |
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| 71 | 71 | | is authorized in a written lease. |
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| 72 | 72 | | SECTION 4. The changes in law made by Sections 24.005(b) and |
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| 73 | 73 | | 51.002, Property Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to a |
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| 74 | 74 | | notice of sale required to be provided on or after September 1, |
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| 75 | 75 | | 2009. A notice required to be provided before September 1, 2009, is |
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| 76 | 76 | | governed by the law in effect immediately before that date, and that |
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| 77 | 77 | | law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 78 | 78 | | SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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