Landlord Rights When Selling Home

[DanMP20]

Hello,

I live in California and currently have a tenant renting out my home. He was in a long term lease that ended in March and rolled into a month to month. On August 4th, I let him know that I would be selling the house and offered assistance with finding him new housing. On August 21st I received and accepted an offer on the property and sent him a 30 day lease termination letter. The termination date was for September 30th. There is a clause in his rental contract stating that I can give a 30 day notice if I sell the house.

Unfortunately the offer fell out of escrow due to an uncomfortable interaction between my tenant and the buyer during her inspection. In the meantime I would appreciate any information on the following:

*Is the 30 day notice I sent previously still valid if the house fell out of escrow?
*Do I need to send a new notice to terminate the lease with a 60 day notice because he has lived in the house over 1 year and the house is not in escrow?
*What if I enter into contract with another offer? Do I need to stick to the 60 day notice or can I reissue a 30 day notice due to the sale of the house?

Also, I've tried to be accommodating and respectful of my tenants privacy and letting him set the schedule of when showings can happen. The previous offer came in sight unseen so we were lucky to have no one tour the home before accepting an offer. My tenant will only allow showings on Mondays and Tuesdays and my agent is feeling challenged with moving forward unless we can show on a weekend day. What are my rights here if my tenant may be impeding the sale of the house?

Thank you all for any information you might have,

Dan

 

[LdiJ]

Hello,

I live in California and currently have a tenant renting out my home. He was in a long term lease that ended in March and rolled into a month to month. On August 4th, I let him know that I would be selling the house and offered assistance with finding him new housing. On August 21st I received and accepted an offer on the property and sent him a 30 day lease termination letter. The termination date was for September 30th. There is a clause in his rental contract stating that I can give a 30 day notice if I sell the house.

Unfortunately the offer fell out of escrow due to an uncomfortable interaction between my tenant and the buyer during her inspection. In the meantime I would appreciate any information on the following:

*Is the 30 day notice I sent previously still valid if the house fell out of escrow?
*Do I need to send a new notice to terminate the lease with a 60 day notice because he has lived in the house over 1 year and the house is not in escrow?
*What if I enter into contract with another offer? Do I need to stick to the 60 day notice or can I reissue a 30 day notice due to the sale of the house?

Also, I've tried to be accommodating and respectful of my tenants privacy and letting him set the schedule of when showings can happen. The previous offer came in sight unseen so we were lucky to have no one tour the home before accepting an offer. My tenant will only allow showings on Mondays and Tuesdays and my agent is feeling challenged with moving forward unless we can show on a weekend day. What are my rights here if my tenant may be impeding the sale of the house?

Thank you all for any information you might have,

Dan

You should probably give notice to the tenant to move out so that you can start showing the house, without interference, once it's empty. Clearly your tenant feels like his/her privacy is being violated and therefore is not going to be cooperative. If you think about it, I don't think that anyone would be happy with strangers roaming around the home they rent. I wouldn't be myself.

 

[zddoodah]

On August 4th, I let him know that I would be selling the house and offered assistance with finding him new housing. On August 21st I received and accepted an offer on the property and sent him a 30 day lease termination letter.

You needed to give a 60-day notice since the tenant (apparently) had lived there more than a year.

There is a clause in his rental contract stating that I can give a 30 day notice if I sell the house.

The statute trumps this provision.

Is the 30 day notice I sent previously still valid if the house fell out of escrow?

As far as I can discern, it wasn't valid in the first place.

Do I need to send a new notice to terminate the lease with a 60 day notice because he has lived in the house over 1 year and the house is not in escrow?

The house being in escrow or not is irrelevant. If you want your tenant out without cause, you need to give a 60-day notice under CC 1946.1 (linked above).

What if I enter into contract with another offer? Do I need to stick to the 60 day notice or can I reissue a 30 day notice due to the sale of the house?

I assume this question is premised on the 30-day lease provision being valid, so the question is moot.

Also, I've tried to be accommodating and respectful of my tenants privacy and letting him set the schedule of when showings can happen. The previous offer came in sight unseen so we were lucky to have no one tour the home before accepting an offer. My tenant will only allow showings on Mondays and Tuesdays and my agent is feeling challenged with moving forward unless we can show on a weekend day. What are my rights here if my tenant may be impeding the sale of the house?

For starters, and for what it's worth, the last time I sold a house with a tenant, my realtor advised that the process would be smoother with the tenant gone. In any event, you or your agents have the right to enter the leased premises "to exhibit the dwelling unit to prospective or actual purchasers" during "normal business hours unless the tenant consents to an entry during other than normal business hours at the time of entry." Click the provided link and read the specifics about the timing and manner of the notice when the intended entry is for purposes of exhibiting the property to potential purchasers. Also be aware that, other than allowing properly noticed access, the tenant does not otherwise have any obligation to cooperate.

 

[FarmerJ]

( You didn't say if your county / city has a eviction moratorium or not in force , because if there is one in place this tenant might dig in thier heels and refuse to leave knowing you wont get any help from the courts if it comes down to it ) when you give the 60 day notice in writing send it via confirmed mail delivery , keep a copy stapled to your postal receipt and I too agree it would be better to have the place empty when you show it , that way tenant cannot disrupt showings ,. As far as the tenant goes even if you don't show it until after they vacate make it crystal clear they do not get to dictate when the unit is shown or create a so called schedule I see it this way , either the tenant can make you angry or a new landlord angry because even with a eviction moratorium , once it ends the tenant is going to need either you or a new landlord to give them a referral in order to make it easier to find a new place ( if the tenant knew that they were going to be taken to court to get out .

 

[quincy]

( You didn't say if your county / city has a eviction moratorium or not in force , because if there is one in place this tenant might dig in thier heels and refuse to leave knowing you wont get any help from the courts if it comes down to it ) when you give the 60 day notice in writing send it via confirmed mail delivery , keep a copy stapled to your postal receipt and I too agree it would be better to have the place empty when you show it , that way tenant cannot disrupt showings ,. As far as the tenant goes even if you don't show it until after they vacate make it crystal clear they do not get to dictate when the unit is shown or create a so called schedule I see it this way , either the tenant can make you angry or a new landlord angry because even with a eviction moratorium , once it ends the tenant is going to need either you or a new landlord to give them a referral in order to make it easier to find a new place ( if the tenant knew that they were going to be taken to court to get out .

I believe California’s Governor Newsom has extended the eviction moratorium until September 30th.

Executive Order: https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/6.30.20-EO-N-71-20.pdf

Local ordinances:
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/coronavirus-covid-19-california-eviction-bans-and-tenant-protections.html

There should be word on California’s “Covid-19 Tenant Relief Act of 2020” sometime today.

 

[adjusterjack]

What are my rights here if my tenant may be impeding the sale of the house?

The tenant has a hell of a lot more rights than you do.

Never sell your house while the tenant lives there unless you want to sell it cheap to investors who want to continue to be landlords.

Otherwise get the tenant out, clean it up, and then put it up for sale.

I learned that a long time ago when I had my rentals. You're learning it now.

And, yes, you have to start from scratch with a new 60 day notice since you messed up the first time around.

 

[Zigner]

Would a moratorium on evictions preclude (or invalidate) the notice itself?

 

[quincy]

Dan should check the current laws in his area, if his tenant has decided to stay in the house despite a notice to move.

 

[adjusterjack]

The house being in escrow or not is irrelevant.

Actually, it is relevant. I missed the escrow thing. The statute has an exception to the 60 day requirement.

See 1946.1(d)

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=1946.1.

It appears that the 30 day notice was valid.

It appears that the owner may also have a cause of action against the tenant for tortious interference with a contract and I think that kind of lawsuit can be filed sooner which, if filed ASAP, could convince the tenant that moving out would be in the tenant's best interest.

Unfortunately, if the tenant is going to be recalcitrant, the owner may end up with a costly delay in selling his property while litigating against the tenant one way or the other.

Realistically, it might be time for that famous game show "Cash For Keys."

 

[quincy]

Update on the status of evictions in California, with the changes possible with a vote on Monday:

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-08-28/california-lawmakers-bar-evictions-deal-tenant-payments-coronavirus?_amp=true