Foreclosure activities and related consumer protections covered under the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009 (PTFA) – including restoring protections for tenants from eviction – is outlined in a revised booklet providing information and procedures for examiners, released Monday by the federal regulator of national banks.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) said its Comptroller’s Handbook booklet titled “Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act” summarizes requirements under the PTFA, discusses risks associated with a bank’s PTFA compliance, and provides examiners with information and procedures regarding a bank’s risk management and PTFA compliance.
The agency noted that the 2009 law is intended to protect tenants under certain circumstances from evictions resulting from foreclosures on the properties they occupy. However, the agency noted, those protections had been subject to a sunset provision.
The 2018 Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (EGRRCPA, S. 2155) restored certain sections of the law and repealed the sunset provision making the PTFA provisions permanent, the OCC said.
The provisions apply to any immediate successor in interest – including banks – that foreclose on a federally related mortgage loan or on any dwelling or residential real property as defined in section 3 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, that is subject to a bona fide lease, as defined in the PTFA and in 12 USC 2602, it said in the bulletin.
The agency also noted its revised booklet rescinds at least two earlier documents issued by the agency: OCC Bulletin 2011-15, “Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009: Revised Examination Procedures,” and “Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009” booklet of the Comptroller’s Handbook issued in May 2011.
Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act : Revised Comptroller’s Handbook Booklet and Rescissions