You like your apartment. With the current frenzied rent hikes, you’d like to be secure in not needing to search for an alternative. However, your landlord has informed you that they will be selling the property.
Perhaps your landlord has decided to sell your building due to the property market is very favorable. Maybe your landlord has decided to transfer the property into their children, or perhaps they died and now have many rental properties that they want to get out of. When an apartment is changed hands or is sold and tenants such as you should be aware about what might happen when they renew their lease.
This could be based upon your current lease agreement and your local or state’s tenant-landlord laws. These are the possible problems that you need to be aware of when renting a property if the property is sold to the new owners. It is the same for leasing a single-family house too, in case you’re wondering why an agent for real estate posted a notice outside of your home.
Legal Law and Lease Law of the Lease
Like most rent conflicts the answer to this question is likely to depend on your lease or rental agreement. For the most part one, it’s best to familiarize yourself about the provisions of your lease agreement and keep a copy when you encounter situations similar to this. It is also useful in other circumstances that relate to the rights you have as a tenant.
Most leases are month-to month, and landlords are able to end the lease so long as they give the necessary written notice. Your lease must include the normal termination provisions for you and your current or potential landlord. The lease could also state that the landlord must give you a specific number of days’ notice before end of lease, as well as whether they’ll refund your security deposit , or give the deposit to the new owner.
The new landlord may require the signing of a brand new lease after they have acquired your building. In that scenario, it is important to review the new lease with care and be sure the lease terms don’t alter your lease. It is also important for renters everywhere to know the conditions of their leases. This is a legally binding agreement.
The lease you have in place includes a termination clause when the property’s ownership changes. If it is, the clause will dictate whether the lease is able to be ended.
If your lease does not specifically state what happens when the rental property goes into the hands of a different owner, and the lease isn’t over The current landlord, as well as the new landlord will be able to end the lease or modify the terms (like the monthly rent or security deposits) with your permission up to the expiration date of your lease. If the lease expires the new owner may require you to agree to new terms, for example, accepting a one year lease or long-term contract instead of a monthly lease.
It is the Law of the Land
Although your lease is likely to decide what happens in the event that your apartment has been sold or transferred local laws or the state may provide a different perspective about the issue. If your apartment is subject to local ordinance on rent control that prohibits eviction, you can’t be evicted or see your rent payment increase because of the fact that the building shifts hands. If your landlord has sold and the new owner will transform the complex into condos, then the new owner plans to relocate to the area (i.e. or in San Francisco), that may be an issue.
The general rule is that nothing about your living conditions will change after or during the selling process, if the property is sold to a new owner. However, it is important to review the conditions of the lease you have currently as well as the local laws governing landlords and tenants to ensure. You must ensure that you make your payments on time as non-payment could constitute a valid reason that the owner could use to end the lease.
Of course you are able to get legal counsel from an attorney that handles tenant-landlord disputes.