A landlord and tenant relationship can be a stressful relationship solely based on its nature. The tenant is looking for a place to call home and the landlord is looking for a profit. These two desires can be aligned, however, sometimes a landlord in search of profits must sell his investment to recoup his full benefit.
So what happens to a tenant when a landlord sells the property? State property law largely determines this answer. Meaning, when looking to determine what will happen to your living situation when your landlord sells is something that you will need to look to state statutes to figure out. Here in Florida, the Landlord must give notice, however, the amount of notice needed is dependent on the duration of the rental agreement between the landlord and tenant. Under Fla. Stat. 83.46, if the duration is not stated the period of the lease is based on when rent is paid. For example, if your lease is a month-to-month lease, it is only required that the tenant be given 15-days written notice. Fla. Stat. 83.57(3). The only requirement for the notice is covered in 83.56(4), which states that the notice shall be delivered by mail, personal delivery, or left at the residence.
The rights of a tenant under a set term lease, the ordinary one-year lease, for example, are more numerous. Under a set term lease, the current landlord must transfer the deposit and any rents taken held to the new property owner. This means that the new landlord cannot require the tenant to deposit more money or disregard previous month’s payments. Fla. Stat. 83.49. Furthermore, the original landlord does not have the right to sell something that he currently does not have, the right to occupy the property which is the right of the leaseholder until the lease expires. Thus, the lease is passed on to the new landlord in its full form, and the tenant has the right to occupy the property until the end of the lease agreement.
