Q: I am writing about the home I rent. I think the landlord has not paid the mortgage and people keep stopping by the house. I don’t think I should have to pay the rent, but don’t know what to do. Can you tell me what my rights are?

A: This is a fairly common problem today, especially in Sacramento. We have one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country. Unfortunately, the Legislature has not done enough to slow the tide of foreclosures and has done nothing to protect tenants.

The first part of this is fairly easy. You must continue paying your rent to your landlord until you are told that the property is owned by someone else. There are many landlords who fall behind in payments by a month so they can try to negotiate a loan modification with the bank. This is not the ideal method, but it happens. And some of the more aggressive banks will start conducting regular property inspections at that time.

One of my clients lived in her house but was a month behind. The bank did a property inspection and the inspector determined the house was vacant so he changed the locks. Apparently, he did not look closely enough because she still had her furniture in the house.

Now for the scam alert: Some landlords fall behind and crooks will obtain a list of properties in “pre-foreclosure.” They can then determine if the property is a rental. They will come and ask you for the rent by claiming that they are the new owner of the property. They may even show you a deed to the property. Do NOT pay this person any rent. Politely ask them to provide a recorded copy of the deed that shows them as the owner. A legal owner will be able to provide a recorded copy of the deed with a stamp from the county recorder.

If the property has been sold, the new owner must give you a 90-day notice to vacate. This gives you three months to find a place to live. While some investors may let you rent the place, most want to get the current tenant out so they can remodel the house and rent it for a higher monthly payment. Some of these investors will even offer you “cash for keys,” in which they pay you to move out before the 90 days is up. You can negotiate this with them.

Remember, until you are sure that the property has been sold, do not pay anyone else. Continue paying your current landlord. And for prospective renters: Go to the county recorder and look at all documents that have been recorded on the property before you rent. While not a foolproof way of making sure you don’t rent a foreclosure, it's your best insurance.