Renters caught up in foreclosure face a tangle of often unreachable banks and fears of losing their security deposits along with their homes.

For Ms. Barnes and Mr. Letriz, foreclosure was terrifying, beginning with the eviction notice.

“I thought, ‘Oh, my God, I’m going to be out on the street with my kids,’ ” said Ms. Barnes, 30, a mother of two who is studying to be a nurse.

Then in December, Fannie Mae notified her that it would temporarily halt evictions, and planned to extend leases to renters until it sold the foreclosed buildings. Freddie Mac adopted a similar policy in March.

Though Ms. Barnes still does not have a lease, the company’s promises have eased the stress on her family. She has not paid the rent since receiving the eviction notice in September, but said she was ready to resume payments as soon as she got a lease. She laughed mildly over some of the house’s maintenance problems, including a rotting front step.

“I told my kids it’s a go,” she said. “No more being sick from worry. Plans can be made now  no more what ifs.”

Image Edgar Letriz, who lives with his sister and her two children, faces eviction from their foreclosed apartment in New Haven. Credit... Christopher Capozziello for The New York Times

Mr. Letriz, 39, has had no such reprieve. With a degenerative disc disorder that requires him to use a walker, Mr. Letriz is on disability leave from his job as an assistant dean at Yale College. He shares a neat second-floor apartment with his sister Mariam and her two children. Ms. Letriz is expecting her third child this month.