Landlord selling your home?
This guide is for private assured tenants.
From 1 May 2026 most renters have this tenancy type.
Check your tenancy type if you need to.
What are your rights?
You do not have to leave straight away if your landlord is selling.
Your landlord might want to either:
take steps to evict you so they can sell
sell the property while you still live there
If your home is sold while you still live there, the new owner becomes your landlord.
If your landlord wants you to move out
Your landlord must take these 3 steps to evict you:
Give you a section 8 eviction notice
Get an eviction order from a court if you stay after the notice ends
Apply for bailiffs to evict you if you stay after the date on the order
You can stay in your home until the last step when bailiffs evict you.
If your landlord offers you money to leave
Your landlord might offer to pay you to leave if they want:
the property to be empty when they sell
to avoid evicting you through the courts
Make sure you have a new home to move to if you decide to accept money to leave.
If your landlord tells you to leave
Lots of renters think they must leave without a legal notice if their landlord is selling.
This is not true.
Use our letter template
Copy our template into an email to your landlord.
[Use the subject: My tenancy rights]
I am a tenant at [your address].
You told me that you plan to sell the property.
You said I must leave so you can get it ready for sale.
You need to give me a proper notice. You must have a legal reason for eviction.
You cannot ask the court to evict me for this reason in the first year of my tenancy.
My tenancy continues unless I agree to leave or you take the proper legal steps.
You can also send the letter as an email attachment or by post:
Word template: Your landlord wants to sell (docx 17kb)
OpenDocument template: Your landlord wants to sell (odt 9kb)
Council help to get a new home
You can ask your council for help if your landlord pressures you to leave or gives you a notice.
The council might:
help you find other housing
tell your landlord if you have rights to stay
Tell the council if you are worried about the costs of eviction.
Do not move out too early if you can stay in your home. For example, if your landlord needs to go to court. The council might say you are intentionally homeless.
Last updated: 1 May 2026
