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Sale of Your Apartment
by: New Orleans Legal Assistance
Q.	What Happens When My Landlord Sells My Building?

A.	The sale of your building may affect your rights, including your right to stay in your apartment. If you don't have a lease: If you don't have a lease, your rights as a tenant to stay in your apartment will end with the sale. The new owner should let you stay for at least as long as you have paid for. You and your new owner can make a new agreement. If your new owner accepts rent from you, then you have a new tenancy. If you recorded your lease: If you recorded your lease or an extract at the local office of the parish recorder, you probably have the right to stay until the end of your lease term. Read your lease to see if it says anything different. If you did NOT record your lease: If you did not record your lease, you only have the right to stay until the end of your lease term if your landlord sold the building with a requirement that your lease be honored by the new owner. Without this requirement, the new owner may have the right to evict you. If the new owner evicts you before the end of your lease term, you may have a damages claim against your old landlord.

Q.	Does the New Landlord Have to Give Me a Notice to Vacate Before I Can Be Evicted?

A.	Yes. Even if you are a month-to-month tenant, the new owner must give you at least a 5 day written notice to vacate, unless your old landlord already gave you the notice. If you are not out by the end of the 5 day notice, the new owner can file a law suit to evict you.

Q.	What Happens to My Security Deposit if My Building Is Sold?

A.	If your building is sold during your lease, your landlord must give your security deposit to the new owner. When the lease ends, the new owner is responsible for the return of your deposit. For information on how to get your deposit back, see our FAQ on "Security Deposit--How to Get It Back."


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	Last Reviewed On: 10/25/06

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