When Your Rental Is Sold: California Tenant Rights From Listing to Closing

Does a sale end your lease in California?

No. A sale changes who your landlord is, not the terms you rent under. The buyer generally takes the property subject to your existing lease or rental agreement, including your rent and lease end date, and California law gives the buyer the same remedies for rent and lease violations that the seller had (Civil Code section 821).

Three statutes protect you during the handover:

• Rent paid before you knew. If you paid rent to the old owner before you were told about the sale, you cannot be made to suffer for it (Civil Code section 1111).
• Contact details. A successor owner or manager must give you the name, phone number and address for notices and rent payments within 15 days of taking over (Civil Code section 1962(c)).
• No eviction over that gap. A successor who has not complied with section 1962 cannot serve a three-day notice or evict you for nonpayment of rent that accrued during the period of noncompliance. You still owe the rent itself.

Rent increase limits that applied before the sale still apply after it. Our guide to rent increase notice rules in California covers caps and notice periods.

How much notice does a landlord need to show your unit to buyers?

Civil Code section 1954 lets a landlord enter to show the unit to prospective or actual purchasers, but only during normal business hours and with reasonable written notice stating the date, approximate time and purpose. Twenty-four hours is presumed reasonable; notice sent by mail is presumed reasonable if mailed at least six days ahead.

Once the landlord or agent has told you in writing that the property is for sale and that you may be contacted orally about showings, notice of a showing may be given orally, in person or by phone, for 120 days after that written notice. Each oral notice still needs the date, time and purpose, 24 hours is still the presumed minimum, and the landlord or agent must leave written evidence of the entry inside the unit.

The landlord may not abuse the right of entry or use it to harass you. If showings have become a weekly disruption, our guide to a tenant privacy and entry demand letter explains how to put limits in writing.

What happens to your security deposit when the building is sold?

The seller has to do one of two things within a reasonable time after the sale (Civil Code section 1950.5(i)):

Before a voluntary sale closes, the seller must also give the buyer a written statement of the deposit remaining, any deductions, and which option the seller chose (section 1950.5(j)).

If the seller skips this step, the buyer can be jointly and severally liable with the seller for returning your deposit when you move out (section 1950.5(k)). In plain terms, you can look to either of them. A buyer who did not receive your deposit also cannot demand a new one from you unless it first refunds or accounts for the original. There is a limited exception for a buyer who, after reasonable investigation, believed in good faith that the deposit had been transferred or returned.

Can the new owner make you move out?

Buying the building is not, on its own, a reason to end your tenancy. Under the Tenant Protection Act, once a tenant has lawfully occupied a covered unit for 12 months, the owner needs just cause stated in a written notice to end the tenancy (Civil Code section 1946.2). A change of ownership is not on the list.

Owner move-in is a no-fault just cause, but with conditions as of October 2026:

• For leases entered on or after July 1, 2020, it applies only if you agree in writing or your lease allows the owner to end it for an owner or family move-in.
• The notice must name the intended occupant and their relationship to the owner, and tell you that you can request proof.
• The new occupant has 90 days after you leave to move in, and must then stay for at least 12 consecutive months as a primary residence. If that does not happen, the owner must offer you the unit back on the same rent and lease terms and reimburse reasonable moving costs beyond any relocation payment.
• Relocation help equals one month of your rent: a direct payment within 15 calendar days of service of the notice or, at the owner's option, a written waiver of the last month's rent before it comes due.

Owner move-in cannot be used when the person moving in already occupies a rental unit at the property, or when a comparable unit there is already vacant. Some properties are exempt from the act, including many single-family homes and condos whose owner is not a corporation, a real estate investment trust or an LLC with a corporate member, where tenants have received the required written exemption notice, and housing with a certificate of occupancy issued within the last 15 years. Many cities have their own just cause ordinances that can be stronger, so local rules may differ. When a separately sellable home or condo is sold to a buyer who intends to live there, section 1946.1(d) can shorten the notice owed to a month-to-month tenant from 60 days to 30 if its conditions are met; just cause rules still apply wherever the Tenant Protection Act or a local ordinance covers the unit. A fixed-term lease generally runs to its end date.

Checklist: records to pull together when your building changes hands

• Your lease or rental agreement and any renewals or addenda.
• Proof of your deposit amount: lease clause, receipt or bank record.
• Rent receipts for the last few months, especially any paid around the sale date.
• Any written notice that the property was for sale, and all showing notices.
• The seller's deposit transfer notice, if you got one.
• The new owner's contact notice, and the date it arrived.
• Move-in photos or inspection checklists.

How to confirm your deposit and lease terms with the new owner

A short letter soon after the sale creates a record while everyone's memory is fresh.

1. Identify the unit, your lease dates, current rent and the date you learned of the sale.
2. State the deposit amount you paid and how you can prove it.
3. Ask the new owner to confirm in writing that it received your deposit from the seller, and the amount.
4. Ask for the section 1962 information: who manages the property and where rent and notices go.
5. Send a copy to the seller asking for the section 1950.5(i) notice if you have not received it.
6. Keep proof of delivery for both letters.

Example (hypothetical): a tenant paid a $2,200 deposit. The seller never sent a transfer notice, and the buyer says it received nothing. Under section 1950.5(k), the tenant can seek the deposit from either one at move-out, and the buyer cannot require a replacement deposit without first refunding or accounting for the original.

When an attorney-written letter after a sale makes sense

A change of ownership turns into a dispute when the new owner denies having your deposit, demands a fresh one, serves an owner move-in notice that looks defective, or ignores your requests for contact information while rent questions pile up. Those are the points where a letter from a lawyer to the seller, the buyer or both can make sense.

With Talk to My Lawyer, a licensed California attorney writes your letter from your lease, deposit records and sale notices, cites the provisions of sections 1950.5, 1954 and 1946.2 that match your facts, and sends it on your behalf. If you have received an eviction notice, contact a lawyer promptly, because response deadlines in eviction cases are short.