Residential tenancies: foreclosure.

Existing law governs unlawful detainer proceedings. Existing law authorizes the court clerk to allow access to limited civil case records filed under these provisions to certain persons, including a party to the action or a resident of the premises, under certain conditions, without regard to when they request that access. Existing law also authorizes the clerk to allow access to any other person 60 days after the complaint has been filed, unless a defendant prevails in the action within 60 days of the filing of the complaint, in which case the clerk may not allow access to any court records in the action, except as specified. This bill would additionally authorize the clerk to allow access to those records to any other person in the case of a complaint involving residential property that has been sold in foreclosure, or under other, specified proceedings, as indicated in the caption of the complaint, if 60 days have elapsed since the complaint was filed with the court and judgment against all defendants has been entered for the plaintiff, after a trial. The bill would also require the plaintiff in those proceedings to include a specified caption in the complaint. If judgment is not entered under these conditions, the bill would prohibit the clerk from allowing access to any court records in the action, except to the persons described above who are permitted access without regard to when they request access. Existing law governing unlawful detainer proceedings also requires that a tenant or subtenant in possession of a rental housing unit, as defined, which has been sold by reason of certain enumerated causes, including foreclosure, who rents or leases the rental housing unit either on a periodic basis, as specified, or for a fixed period of time, be given written notice to quit, as specified, at least as long as the term of hiring itself but not exceeding 30 days, before the tenant or subtenant may be removed from that rental housing unit. This bill would additionally require, until January 1, 2013, that any notice to quit regarding a housing unit served within one year after a foreclosure sale include a separate cover sheet that contains an additional notice to renters. The bill would set forth the content of this notice providing the tenant with specified information regarding tenants' rights. The bill would also provide that under certain circumstances the cover sheet need not be served, as specified.