Nowadays, there are many cases of landlords wanting to put their homes up for sale, especially those with old leases and therefore low returns. However, in these cases, the current tenants have to be informed about the sale of the house and even have the right of first refusal. This is the legal view even if the rented house has been inherited by a relative.
I've lived in a rented house for 55 years. I moved there as a child with my parents, and it has been my home until now. In the meantime, my parents passed away and I continued to live there. For years the lease was in my father's name. Two and a half years ago the lease was transferred to my name. My landlord died a month ago and my house was left in his will to a niece. I've learned that she's trying to sell the house, without informing me of anything, especially since there are already real estate agents interested. I'd like to know what my rights are and what I can do about it.
This is not a unique case, as DECO receives several requests for information from consumers in a similar situation to yours. First of all, we can clarify that, although the house was inherited by the landlord's niece, i.e. I have changed owners, the lease does not end and will remain in place until it expires.
Since the lease has been transferred to your name, as the current tenant you have priority in buying the house. Therefore, the fact that you are not aware of the landlady's intention to sell the house is a violation of your right and her duty. This is because the landlord must inform the tenant of his intention to sell the house and of all the details of the sale: price, payment terms, date and place of the deed. What's more, the landlady must find out if there are any other consumers interested in buying the property.
As the current tenant and potential buyer of the house, you have the following rights and duties, warns DECO:
- to receive, by registered letter or email, notice of the sale of the house and the exercise of the RIGHT OF PREFERENCE, which is yours;
- to consider and decide whether or not you want to buy the house and under the conditions proposed;
- to respond, within 30 days of receiving notice from the landlord about the decision to buy or not;
- if you don't reply within this period, you lose your right of first refusal and the landlady can proceed with the sale of the house to other buyers;
- if you exercise your right of first refusal, you can proceed with the contract to buy the house you live in.
Source: idelaistanews and Deco