Your Landlord Is Selling the Property — What Happens to Your Tenancy?
A sale doesn't automatically end your lease. The new owner generally has to honour the existing agreement until its term runs out.
- Act
- Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (1882)
- Act number
- Act No. 4 of 1882
- Enacting authority
- Governor-General of India in Council — remains in force under Article 372 of the Constitution of India
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Always verify current provisions against the official source before relying on them.
The right to be informed
A tenant has the right to be told when the property they're renting changes ownership — it directly affects who they now owe rent to and who is responsible for repairs and deposit refund.
The new owner inherits the agreement
In general, a change in ownership does not by itself terminate a valid tenancy — the new owner steps into the previous landlord's shoes and is expected to honour the existing agreement's terms, including the deposit already paid, until the term expires.
Where structure matters: lease vs licence
This continuity is stronger under a registered lease, which creates an interest in the property that survives a sale. A leave and license agreement, by contrast, can automatically lapse on sale in some structures — a reason NRI and out-of-town landlords sometimes prefer it and something tenants should check in their own agreement's wording.
Protecting the deposit during a transfer
Get written confirmation — ideally as part of the sale paperwork — of how the existing security deposit is being transferred to the new owner, so there's no dispute about who owes it back at move-out.