Your landlord has sold your home with you still living in it, what agents call a sale with tenants in situ. Maybe the estate agent's board came down and nothing happened, or a stranger emailed to say they own the house now and the rent goes to a new account. When a house is sold with a sitting tenant, the tenancy does not end. The buyer takes over as your landlord, on the same terms.
That still leaves you with practical questions. Who do you pay, is your deposit safe, and can the new owner ask you to leave? These rules apply to private renters in England. Wales has its own law for occupation contracts.
Does your tenancy end when the landlord sells?
No. A sale passes the landlord's interest in the property to the buyer, and your tenancy goes with it. The buyer steps into the old landlord's shoes. Your rent, your rent day and the rest of your terms stay as they were, and you don't need to sign anything new.
If the new landlord wants more rent, they must use the same route the old one would have. That means a Section 13 notice on the prescribed form, giving you at least 2 months before the new rent starts. A letter or text announcing a new figure doesn't change what you owe.
How long does a new landlord have to give you their name and address?
Section 3 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 says the new landlord must tell you in writing about the sale and give you their name and address. They must do it by your next rent day after the sale, or within 2 months of the sale if that is later. Sold in early March with rent due mid-month? They have until early May.
A new landlord who misses that deadline without a reasonable excuse commits a criminal offence, and the court can fine them up to £2,500. Your council can prosecute it, so report it to the council if nothing arrives.
The old landlord doesn't walk away on completion day either. Under section 3(3A), they stay liable to you for any breach of your tenancy until either landlord tells you in writing about the sale and the new landlord's name and address. Where the new landlord is also liable for that breach, you can hold either or both of them to it. So if the boiler broke the week after completion and nobody fixed it, both are answerable for that until the notice arrives.
Who do you pay rent to after the house is sold?
Under section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, rent is treated as not due until your landlord gives you an address in England and Wales where you can serve notices, including court papers. A new owner usually needs to give you one. If the address in their section 3 letter is in England or Wales, that letter can do both jobs.
This is a pause, not a rent holiday. Once a proper address arrives, all the rent you held back is due straight away. So while you wait, keep each month's rent in a separate account, ready to hand over. Our section 48 guide covers the detail.
Don't move your payments to a new account on the strength of an email alone. Ask the old landlord or agent to confirm the sale in writing, and check the owner's name on the HM Land Registry title register. The register can take weeks or months to show a new owner, so if it still names the old landlord, rely on written confirmation from the old landlord or their agent. Landlord registration on the private rented sector database is due to start on 15 December 2026, region by region, but there is no confirmed way yet for tenants to search it.
Is your deposit still protected after the house is sold?
The sale doesn't change the rule that your deposit must be protected. It can change who holds it. Start by checking which scheme protects your deposit and whose name is on the protection.
Then contact that scheme (DPS, TDS or mydeposits) and ask what happens to your deposit when the landlord changes. Each scheme runs its own process, and the scheme is the one that can tell you where your money sits today. Ask the new landlord in writing to confirm the same thing.
Keep the prescribed information you were given when the deposit was first protected. If the protection moves, ask for the new certificate and paperwork, and keep those too.
Can the new landlord evict you to move in or sell again?
Only with a legal reason and the right notice. A private landlord in England needs a Section 8 ground. A buyer who wants to live there can use Ground 1, and one who wants to sell again can usually use Ground 1A. Both need 4 months' notice, and the date in the notice must be at least a year after your tenancy began, under Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988.
That year counts from the start of your tenancy, not from the sale, because your tenancy has carried on. If you've lived there for 2 years, a new owner could serve notice soon after buying.
Serving either ground starts a restricted period, running from service until 12 months after the earliest court date in the notice. Re-letting or marketing the home to let in that window is an offence, with a civil penalty of up to £40,000, subject to narrow exceptions in section 16F. Our guides to Ground 1 and Ground 1A cover the rest.
Who fixes repairs when a rented house is sold?
The new landlord. Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 puts a repairing duty into almost every private tenancy in England, including periodic ones, and it binds whoever is your landlord now. It covers the structure and exterior, including drains and gutters, and the installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, heating and hot water. The new landlord is responsible from the sale on, including for anything that was already broken and still needs fixing once they know about it. Compensation for disrepair before the sale stays a claim against the old landlord, because a buyer isn't liable for breaches before they took over.
Don't assume your old complaints carried across. Write to the new landlord listing every outstanding repair, with dates and photos. Send a copy to the old landlord as well, since they stay liable for breaches until you have been told in writing about the sale and the new landlord's name and address. Keep copies of everything you send.
Remedy can check what your new landlord has and hasn't told you so far, and help you write to them for their address, your deposit details and a fix date for the repairs.
Frequently asked questions
The tenancy carries on and the buyer becomes your landlord, with the same rights and duties as the old one. Your rent and terms don't change because of the sale. You stay until the tenancy ends in one of the ways the law allows, such as your own notice or a court order.
The same rights the old landlord had, and no more. They can collect the rent, raise it with a Section 13 notice, and seek possession only on a Section 8 ground through the courts. They also take on the old landlord's duties, including repairs.
No. Your existing tenancy binds the buyer, so nothing needs re-signing. If the new landlord sends a fresh agreement, read it first. You don't have to sign it.
Keep paying your current landlord until you get written notice of the sale. Note any outstanding repairs, photograph the condition of the home, and keep your deposit paperwork safe. That gives you a clear record to hand the new owner.
