Can a new owner cancel my lease?

No. A fixed-term lease runs with the property, so the buyer takes the building subject to your lease and inherits the landlord's obligations. They cannot terminate it early, raise your rent, or change the rules just because they bought the place. Your lease continues on its existing terms until it expires.

What happens to my security deposit?

It is supposed to transfer to the new owner at closing, and in most states the new owner becomes responsible for returning it at move-out. Practically, this is where disputes happen. Keep your original deposit receipt and lease, and ask the new owner in writing to confirm they received and are holding your deposit.

Who do I pay rent to now?

The new owner, but only once you have written confirmation of the change. Do not switch payment based on a phone call or a note taped to a door. Ask for written notice identifying the new owner and the payment address or portal. Until you get it, keep paying the original landlord and keep records; never simply stop paying.

Can the new owner raise my rent?

Not during a fixed-term lease. They can raise it at renewal, with whatever notice your state and any local rent control require. If you are month-to-month, they can change the rent going forward with the required notice, commonly 30 days but longer in many places.

Can the new owner refuse to renew my lease?

Usually yes, when the term ends, unless you are in a just-cause jurisdiction or covered by rent stabilization, which limit the reasons for non-renewal. They still must give the notice your state requires. What they cannot do is push you out mid-lease or use a lockout instead of the court process.

Your Landlord Sold the Building: What Happens to Your Lease

A notice appears under your door: the property has new owners, send rent here now. The immediate worry is whether you are about to be moved out or repriced. In almost every case the answer is no. A lease runs with the property, and the buyer bought your tenancy along with the building. Here is what actually changes and what to nail down this week.

The lease survives the sale

This is the core rule and it is worth being confident about: a fixed-term lease is an interest in the property, so a buyer takes the building subject to it. The new owner steps into the previous landlord's shoes, inheriting both the rights (collect rent, enforce the rules) and the obligations (repairs, habitability, honoring your term). Nothing about your rent, end date, pet clause, or parking spot changes because the deed changed hands.

What cannot change mid-lease

Your rent amount, until the term ends.
Your lease end date.
The rules and terms written into the lease.
Your right to a habitable unit and to proper notice before entry.

A new owner who tries to impose new terms mid-term is doing what the original landlord could not do either. See lease amendments and addendums.

The exception: month-to-month

If you are month-to-month rather than on a fixed term, the new owner has the same flexibility your old landlord had. They can raise the rent or change terms going forward, and they can end the tenancy, in each case with the notice your state requires (commonly 30 days, longer in many places and for longer tenancies). See month-to-month termination notice by state.

Create a Lease ($7.99) Check Notice Rules by State

Your security deposit is the thing to watch

The deposit is supposed to transfer to the new owner at closing, and in most states the new owner becomes responsible for returning it when you move out. In practice this is where tenants get burned, because a new owner sometimes claims they never received it. Protect yourself now:

Find your original deposit receipt and your signed lease.
Email the new owner asking them to confirm in writing that they hold your deposit and the amount.
Keep that confirmation with your lease until move-out.

What to do this week

Get written notice of the change, identifying the new owner or management company and where rent goes.
Do not change payment on a verbal instruction. Rent scams follow building sales; verify before redirecting money.
Keep paying. If you are unsure who to pay, keep paying the original landlord and document every attempt. Never stop paying.
Send your lease to the new owner, so there is no dispute about your terms.
Update your records with the new contact for repairs and notices.

If the new owner behaves badly

New ownership sometimes arrives with pressure to leave early, sudden fees, or repairs that stop happening. None of that is permitted mid-lease. A new owner cannot lock you out, shut off utilities, or evict without the court process, exactly as before. See what a landlord cannot do and self-help eviction. For the transaction from the buyer's side, see inheriting tenants when buying a property.

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