Folks:
A 3-apartment property came with previous tenants. The leases expire at different times but the major question is does the new owner need to accept the old leases or is there something that could be done to terminate/renegotiate them. I heard that if the property is intended to be used by new landlord for personal purposes there are exceptions of some sort that allow for more flexibility to the landlord.
Any feedback/opinion is appreciated.
The place is in CT if that matters.
Unless the lease has some stipulation in it that says it becomes void at the time of sale of the property I believe the lease is valid until it expires. At that time, you can renegotiate the lease with each tenant. You may need to check with an attorney in your area for state or city specifics.
State and local laws govern.
In NY State, only in cases of rent control can owners regain units for their own use. In NJ, there’s a state “anti eviction” law that further limits landlords right to terminate leases.
In most jurisdictions, you’ll have to wait for the expiration of the lease. Otherwise what good is a lease if one easy trick to get rid of a tenant is just to sell the property to a relative, or deed it, and then buy it back again. The only exception is a subordination clause in mortgages where a lender can terminate a lease on tenants if the borrower defaults.
You can renegotiate the lease at any time. The key part is that it has to be acceptable to both parties as you would both have to agree to terminate the old lease. If you just want them gone, you can usually just buy them out by offering them a month’s rent or something if they leave by a certain date.
If you’re in the process of buying a property, you can put in the condition that the property be delivered vacant. Then it’s up to the previous landlord to get rid of them. The tricky part with this is that most won’t agree to it because they will then have a vacant building if the deal falls though.