According to the Center for Housing Policy, nearly 20 percent of all foreclosures are on rental properties, and tenants' rights in such situations are minimal.

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According to Housing Landscape 2013, a study published by the National Housing Conference and Center for Housing Policy, in the three years before 2011, working renters saw their housing costs rise by 6%, while homeowners saw them drop by 3%.

WSJ: When to Buy After a Foreclosure��WSJ House Talk

"In the current crisis, servicers who are not conflicted for a variety of reasons that the big bank servicers are have been more aggressive and more creative in their loan modifications, " said Julia Gordon, director of housing finance and policy at the Center for American Progress, a Washington, D.

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