Selling a property with existing tenants – What you need to know

If you’re a landlord who wishes to sell a property that is currently occupied by existing tenants, you might be wondering if you are actually able to do so. The short answer is yes, but you have a few important considerations to take into account beforehand, and a couple of potential routes to go down.

Your first option is to sell with ‘tenants in situ’. This means selling the property to another landlord who will keep on the tenants living there as their own. The property should be listed as buy-to-let only, and the circumstances must be made clear whilst advertising to any potential buyers. In addition to this, if the new landlord would like to alter the existing tenancy agreement, the tenants must first also give their consent before the sale can go through. There are positives to this method too, such as the attractiveness of having an existing source of income from the investment from the beginning.

Option two is to evict your tenants. How easy this is depends on the details laid out in the tenancy agreement, and the appropriate amount of notice must be given before you can clear the property and prepare it for sale. Selling a vacant property increases your potential pool of buyers, as you will no longer be limited to only other landlords. You can also ensure everything is properly presented, without relying on the tenants to keep the property in saleable shape.