15-1508.5.Notice by holder or purchaser to known occupants of dwelling units of mortgaged real estate.

Winning a foreclosure sale doesn't let the new owner start collecting rent from existing tenants right away. Within 21 days after the judicial sale but no later than 21 days after the sale is confirmed, the holder of the certificate of sale or deed (or the purchaser, if none issued) must make a good-faith effort to identify occupants of the property's dwelling units and, within that same 21-day post-confirmation window, notify each known occupant in writing that the property has been foreclosed and control has changed. That notice must identify the occupant by the name known to the holder, explain the change in control, give contact information for property concerns or repairs, include language clarifying it is not a notice to vacate, state the case name, number, and court, and give payment instructions for future rent. It's served by delivery to the occupant, by leaving it with a household member at least 13 years old, or by first-class mail.

If the holder or purchaser learns an occupant's identity more than 21 days after confirmation, it must send the required notice within 7 days of learning that information. And within that same 21-day post-confirmation window, it must also post a written notice on the primary entrance of every dwelling unit, covering similar ground -- the change in control, that it isn't a vacate notice, contact information, and future rent instructions.

The consequence for skipping any of this falls on rent collection: a holder or purchaser who doesn't comply may not collect rent from a known occupant, or terminate that occupant's tenancy for nonpayment, until it serves the required notice -- after which it may collect rent and terminate for nonpayment going forward. An occupant who already paid the mortgagor (or whoever managed the property) for the current rental period can't be charged twice, and can't be evicted for nonpayment of that period's rent. This remedy is exclusive; it doesn't affect the holder's or purchaser's separate right to pursue possession under Article IX or Section 15-1701(h), and none of it applies to a mortgagee already in possession under Section 15-1703, or to anyone against whom an order of possession has already been entered under Section 15-1508(g).