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In the past, when the family got behind on their rent and was facing an eviction many times they would file for bankruptcy to buy themselves some time so they didn't end up on the street. Many landlords used to call these people professional tenants, using whatever means possible to not pay rent. With the changes to the bankruptcy code in 2005, this is no longer a problem for the landlords that are trying to evict a tenant. Now, if a tenant decides to file for bankruptcy to avoid eviction, as long as the landlord had begun the process to evict the tenant, they will be able to continue on with the eviction as planned. Not even a bankruptcy attorney will be able to stop it by trying to file some fancy motion. Anti-creditor groups feel that this is one of the harshest changes to the bankruptcy code that involves consumers.
This blocks the group of individuals that use a bankruptcy filing as a way to stop collection or eviction efforts. This does not stop an individual that is down on their luck and is filing for bankruptcy and can't afford to pay their rent during the process. If a tenant is already in the process of filing bankruptcy when the landlord begins the eviction process, the automatic stay will block the landlord's efforts. If the landlord wants to continue on with the eviction, they will have to file a motion for relief of stay with the bankruptcy court to allow them to kick the tenant out of their property. This will take a little bit of time to go through the whole process. Any time an individual is filing bankruptcy, they are protected by the automatic stay stopping all collection and legal action against the debtor. With the economy we are in now this law will probably be used extensively as many are having trouble making ends meet in paying their rent. Experts are predicting that the slowdown in 2011 is the calm before the storm. Many feel that 2012 will ramp up and be another record year for those filing bankruptcy.
