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Member Helpline Q&A
Where a landlord has entered into an unconditional contract for the sale of tenanted premises and the sale is not subject to any existing tenancy, a tenant may be given 30 days written notice to vacate the premises. However, it is important to ensure compliance with the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 when serving a termination notice on these grounds.
First, you will need to ensure that the contract for sale requires the vendor to provide the purchaser with vacant possession upon settlement.
Second, and most importantly, you need to make sure that the proposed termination date is not before the end of the fixed term. That is, a tenant cannot be evicted during the fixed term of a residential tenancy agreement on the grounds that the premises are being sold.
Failure to comply with these requirements could result in the tenant not vacating the premises by the required date and therefore could impact on the vendor’s ability to comply with their obligations under the contract for sale. This can be particularly problematic when vendors agree to extended cooling off periods, but don’t extend the completion date to allow enough time to allow the proper service of a termination notice.
Agencies who are selling properties they manage, should ensure that their sales staff consult with their property managers to ensure such problems don’t arise.
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