Tenant rights when a rental property is sold

Tenants should be aware that there are certain legal rights that lie within the rental agreement, which safeguard them from eviction, in the event of a sale.

A landlord has the right to sell their property, however, the existing lease agreement will be valid until the expiry of that agreement. Therefore, a lease agreement cannot be cancelled due to a sale.

This derives from the Roman- Dutch law, "huur gaat voor koop", which simply means, "lease trumps a later sale", thus legally entitling a tenant to continue letting.

Upon listing a property for sale, an agreement should be discussed with regards to the sale of the property, and possible viewings for potential purchasers.

Once a property is sold, an outgoing inspection will be conducted upon termination of the lease term, in order to assess the tenant's refund. Should the new owner decide to lease the property, the tenant may continue to reside, with a new lease agreement in place.