If I sell the rented flat, does the buyer have to respect the tenancy agreement?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

Yes. The buyer takes your place in the agreement with the same rights and obligations. Even if the tenancy is not registered at the “Registro de la Propiedad”, the Land Registry, the buyer must respect it at least until it reaches five years, or seven if you are a legal entity, such as a company. If a longer term was agreed, the buyer generally has to respect it in full. Before selling, you must also give notice of the sale to the tenant, who can buy the home ahead of anyone else at the same price. How long the buyer must respect it Always, until the tenancy reaches five years, or seven if the landlord was a legal entity. Those years are counted from the start of the tenancy, not from the sale. If a longer term was agreed, the buyer must respect it in full. The exception is where the tenancy was not registered at the Land Registry and the buyer is protected by the Registry, which requires, among other things, buying in good faith and registering the purchase. In that case the buyer only has to respect the five or seven years, but you will have to pay the tenant one month's rent for each agreed year remaining after those five or seven. For example, if you are an individual and in the third year you sell a flat let for ten years at 1.000 euros a month, the compensation would be 5.000 euros, one month's rent for each of the sixth to tenth years. If the agreement says that a sale will bring it to an end, the buyer only has to respect it until the five or seven years are up. Agreements signed between 6 June 2013 and 5 March 2019 remain subject to the rules in force at the time. A buyer protected by the Land Registry may not have to respect them if they were not registered. What to do when selling Before signing the sale, notify the tenant by a means that provides reliable proof, such as a “burofax”, a certified letter with proof of content, that you are going to sell, stating the price and the other terms. The tenant has thirty calendar days to decide whether to buy it. Without that notice, the sale cannot be registered at the Land Registry and the tenant could later take the home by paying the buyer what the buyer paid. Settle the question of the statutory deposit (the “fianza”) in the deed of sale. As the buyer will be the one who has to return it at the end of the tenancy, the usual practice is to hand it over to the buyer or deduct it from the price. In Catalonia, it is also advisable to notify the change to the “INCASÒL”, the Catalan public body that holds tenancy deposits, where the deposit is lodged in your name. Tell the tenant in writing who the new owner is and where the rent must be paid from the date of the sale. If the buyer wants to live in the flat, they will only be able to recover it early if they are an individual and the agreement contains the necessity clause, the clause that allows the landlord to recover the home to live in or for a close relative. If the buyer wants it vacant, the safe route is for the tenant to agree to leave, in writing and before the sale.