More than 200,000 tenants were displaced last year as a result of residential foreclosures in California, according to a report released by Tenants Together, a statewide organization for renters' rights.

The group, which works to protect and expand tenant rights, found that 77,145 of the 211,154 residential units in foreclosure in California last year, or 37%, were rentals. That includes single-family homes, condominiums and multifamily buildings.

"Tenants are innocent and hidden victims of a foreclosure crisis they did nothing to create," said Gabe Treves, program coordinator and author of the report.

The 2010 report discusses recent developments facing tenants of foreclosed properties and analyzes data from 2009.

In Fresno County, 5,562 renters were affected by rental-unit foreclosures. Another 6,700 renters were affected in Kings, Madera, Merced and Tulare counties.

The report also found that there was a 3% decrease in the rate of foreclosures of single-family homes between 2008 and 2009, while there was a 70% increase in the rate of foreclosures for multifamily buildings.