April 6, 2009
April 6, 2009
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED - SB 225
ICBR members are urged to contact their State Representatives to encourage them to vote NO to Senate Bill 225 when it is heard in the House of Representatives in the next couple of days. SB 225 required notice of foreclosure to tenants and provided tenants with rights to terminate their leases if such notice was not properly provided.
More information on SB 225 is available at the following link: http://www.in.gov/apps/lsa/session/billwatch/billinfo?year=2009&session=1&request=getBill&docno=225
SB 225 was heard by the House Judiciary Committee last week and passed out of the committee with significant amendment made to the original, but with problems remaining. The house Judiciary Committee eliminated general applicability to commercial properties, but did not limit applicability to properties of 1 – 4 residential units as the related House Bill 1081 has done. The amended SB 225 purports to limit the right to terminate to only instances when the proper notice and fundamental landlord obligations (heat, water, etc.) have not been provided, but it also added provisions which put restrictions on a lender’s rights to evict tenants in a foreclosure. ICBR and IAR argued in testimony to the House Judiciary Committee that providing this additional termination right to tenants and the limitations on eviction rights after foreclosure would have a chilling effect on lending to multifamily properties – a particularly unfavorable result in this economic climate.
The Bankers Association, the Indiana Association of Realtors, and ICBR (among others) continue to oppose this bill as currently crafted and the ICBR legislative committee would like your assistance in communicating our concerns to your representatives immediately. If you need assistance in locating and contacting your legislator, please visit http://www.in.gov/legislative/legislators/.
Thank you, again, for your assistance.
Stan Evans
ICBR Legislative Committee Chair