[Rich]

I read an article that said the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act, which was extended by Dodd-Frank until 12-31-14 has sunset. The article said that there was a bill introduced in Congress to extend the Act, but they took no action. First, is this correct, and second if so, what should we do with our Board approved policy of the same name? I have NEVER seen a law sunset, so I don’t know what to do!

Topic

[rcooper]

The Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act did sunset at the end of 2014. A bill was introduced and referred to the House Financial Services Committee on Friday. Technically, the PTAFA requirements don’t apply since they expired on December 31, 2014. However, with this new bill being introduced these requirements could be renewed and made permanent. I would recommend waiting to see what the outcome is before changing policies and procedures.

[Anonymous]

Our policy is due for annual board approval. Since the requirements expired 12-31-14, would it be a best practice to get our current policy approved for another year and revisit it if the new bill is passed? Or could there be issues with getting policy approval for something that has expired?
Thanks!

[rcooper]

My opinion would be to renew the policy and honor the protections until the bill either dies or is passed and make a call at that time. I don’t believe a bank would be criticized for continuing to provide increased protections even if the statute originally behind it has expired. On the other hand, if you choose to dismantle this process and don’t mind reinstating it if the bill becomes law, then that would be fine as well too. I guess it ultimately depends on what your institution prefers.

[Author]

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