Renter 'harassed' during foreclosure dispute, fighting for home

OAKLAND, Calif. - A renter in East Oakland is caught in the middle of a property dispute as two men continue a legal battle over who owns her apartment building. 

The tenant, Cecilia Carey, said she’s been threatened and harassed to leave, but she’s fighting for her home.

"I get sick, nauseated, whenever somebody knocks on the door, I’m afraid. I’m jumping out of my skin," she said. 

Carey has lived at her apartment on 64th Avenue Place in East Oakland for seven years, so it came as a surprise when she received notice the property she rents was foreclosed.

In October 2023, Carey received an eviction notice in the mail stating a man named Mauricio Torres was suing her landlord, Lionel Tanner. She and the other tenants in her fourplex were not named in the document.

Ever since, she said she’s been caught in the crossfire between Tanner, the man she has a lease agreement with, and Torres, the man who bought the foreclosed property.

"When we got the unlawful detainer, I called Mr. Tanner and asked him about the situation, you know, to find out what’s going on, and that's when he said that he was actually in court regarding title to the building," Carey said. 

Documents from July 2023 show the property was sold in a trustee sale, with Torres as the bidder.

However, Carey said she was never notified that the property was changing hands.

The uncertainty has caused her anxiety, she said. "I just want it to go away. I don't want to have to worry about it. I don't want it to be the last thing I think about when I go to bed and the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning."

Tanner told KTVU the sale was done illegally.

He wrote in a court document, "The sale was void because it involved a deceased individual."

Despite trying to ask Tanner for clarity on the deceased individual, KTVU was unable to get further comment from him.

Tanner is currently in litigation with Torres for the title of the property.

"I think that's something that Mr. Torres and Mr. Tanner should be battling about. Not with the tenants," said Carey.

Carey said she’s continued paying rent to Tanner over the past year since she learned about this.

"We don't have leases with Mr. Torres," she said.

While Tanner and Torres duke it out, Carey said she’s been threatened by Torres and his associates, not just with notices to vacate, but with unwelcome visits.

"I hear banging on the door, knocking on the door. I've received text messages and threats," she said.

Carey said back in July, she had to call police when people she believes are associated with Torres came to the property.

"One of the tenants got a notice saying they needed to pay $17,000 in back rent, when he's never been late on his rent," she said.

Eventually, other tenants at the fourplex agreed to leave, but Carey stayed to fight for her home, taking it to the courts.

After months of reaching out to Torres and his attorney Timothy Larson, KTVU finally received an email from Larson stating "there is no legitimate title litigation."

He went on to write Carey was a tenant of Torres who was "told in open court that he is the owner and that is to whom rent is to be paid." 

Larson called Tanner’s court filings "nonsense" and wrote to reporter Crystal Bailey, "If you want to platform these people you're only going to embarrass yourself."

Marc Janowitz with the East Bay Community Law Center took on Carey’s case. 

"When these individuals and their agents show up at the property, and they start changing locks and doing things as a new owner might, and she doesn't know who these people are, it's a little disturbing. It's legally very dangerous," said Janowitz.

He said he’s seen an increase in foreclosure eviction cases since the pandemic.

Back in 2008, the national housing crisis caused an unprecedented number of foreclosures and the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act was created to protect renters whose owner loses the property.

Janowitz said Carey is operating under a legal lease agreement.

"There appears to me to be a legitimate dispute as to whether the foreclosure was proper, was lawful. If it is not lawful, then the Carey’s former landlord remains her landlord," he said.

"I thought I was losing my home, and I still might," Carey said.

It’s not over. In July, Carey received another legal document: a three-day notice to pay up or leave.

Torres was requesting more than $19,000 in backpay for all the months she’s been paying rent to Tanner. 

In August, she received a notice of eviction, beginning the process for another lawsuit. This time, against her.

"I am a legal and lawful tenant. I’ve done nothing wrong," Carey said.

While the feud continues, the situation has encouraged Carey to continue her education. She recently enrolled in Cal State East Bay’s paralegal program, studying to help others like her.

She has this message for tenants involved in a dispute with their landlords: "You have to know your rights. You have to be able to discern when someone is trying to take advantage of you. If you don't know how to be resourceful, you have to learn to be resourceful."

Hearings continue in the case between Torres and Tanner, with the next court date scheduled in late October. In the meantime, Carey will fight the eviction lawsuit.