Renting a home that was foreclosed in Delaware: your rights

Your rights as a renter in Delaware, in order

1. Federal floor: 90 days' notice, and your lease may continue

   After the sale

   Under the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act, a bona fide tenant gets at least 90 days' written notice to vacate, and a lease signed before the foreclosure runs to its end unless the buyer will live in the home. If you have a Section 8 voucher, the new owner takes over your lease and housing assistance contract. See [tenant notice after foreclosure](/notices/tenant-notice-after-foreclosure/).

   Pub. L. 111-22 § 702, as restored by Pub. L. 115-174 § 304

2. Notice of the sheriff's sale goes to tenants

   At least 7 days before the sale

   Court Rule 69(g) requires a notice of the sheriff's sale, with a copy of the ad, to be sent by certified mail to tenants and others with an interest. If you get one, it means the sale is set, not that you must move. Keep paying rent as your lease requires and keep receipts.

   Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 69(g)

3. The buyer needs a court order to remove you

   After the sale is confirmed and the deed is recorded

   A buyer can ask Superior Court for a writ of possession through a rule to show cause, or ask the Justice of the Peace Court for summary possession if a tenant stays more than 5 days after the foreclosure sale and title is perfected. Either way, the federal 90-day notice still applies to a bona fide tenant. Only a court order lets a constable or sheriff remove you.

   10 Del. C. §§ 5011, 5012; 25 Del. C. § 5702(6)

4. A judge can stay the writ for a tenant

   When the rule for possession is made absolute

   If the person living in the home is a tenant, Delaware law says the writ is stayed until the usual end of the tenant's rental year, according to local custom. A writ also cannot be awarded against someone living there in good faith as a tenant under another person. Bring your lease to court.

   10 Del. C. §§ 5015, 5017

5. Free lawyer in eviction cases for many tenants

   As soon as you get a past-due or termination notice or court papers

   Tenants with household income up to 200% of the federal poverty guidelines have a right to legal representation in eviction cases, subject to available funding, unless the landlord owns 3 or fewer units and has no lawyer. If you owe back rent, your lawyer must refer you to the state's rental assistance program. Contact Delaware Volunteer Legal Services, Community Legal Aid Society or Legal Services Corporation of Delaware.

   25 Del. C. §§ 5601, 5602

6. Security deposit and surety bond

   Within 20 days after your tenancy ends

   The landlord must return your deposit, or send an itemized list of damages with the rest, within 20 days after the rental agreement ends, or owe double the amount wrongly kept. If you used a surety bond instead, a new landlord who buys the landlord's interest must accept it. Ask your old landlord and the new owner in writing who holds your deposit.

   25 Del. C. §§ 5514(e) to (g), 5514A(j)

Common questions in Delaware