Can the Tenant Stay?
The month-to-month renter was very proud of the work he’d done in the house to make it habitable. He had painted and found cheap flooring - the throwaway materials from a carpet wholesaler. Although the outside of the home showed evidence of wood rot, he tried to keep up the appearance that the house was well-maintained by mowing regularly.
Across the street, his friend had a two-year lease on the home she rented. She also cared deeply about the house she occupied, though she occasionally had to request a pest treatment to keep the mice and other critters at bay.
Unfortunately both houses changed ownership. The bank foreclosed on the first home and the second was sold after it had been listed on the real estate market for several months. Both tenants worried that they had to vacate. And one of them - JUST ONE - did.
Which one?
If you guess the first tenant, you are right. Because the lease was month-to-month, the new owner (the bank) was able to give an eviction notice and required the tenant to vacate in 60 days. The second tenant was safe because the lease did not contain a SALE CLAUSE which meant the lease survived the sale of the property, therefore the tenant was not required to vacate the premises at or before closing. The lease survived the purchase and sale of the home.
Laws may vary state to state and situation to situation, but in a regular sale of a residential listing, a buyer should be aware that if the home is currently rented and there is no sale clause in the lease agreement, then they inherit the buyers until that lease expires.




