What are my rights regarding my landlord selling the home I am renting?
Full Question:
My roommates and I have a lease that runs out at the end of August. Last week our landlord, who we have an excellent relationship with, called and said that he's selling the house but nothing was said about when this was happening. I came home from work yesterday and there was a For Sale sign on the house and a lock box on the door. I called this morning and asked when the house was going to be shown and he said probably today. I warned him that the house was messy as we had no warning that the house was being shown. He said that the realtor would call before she came over. I got home from work and five minutes later a realtor was knocking on the door with clients and we had no warning that she was coming over. Not only that but someone (I assume a realtor) had been in the house while my roommates and I were at work and had rearranged and cleaned and made my bed which I felt was a violation of privacy. I don't want to make this difficult on the landlord because I like him, but I don't feel like our rights are being respected. Our lease says he needs to give us 48 hours notice before entering the premises and we have graciously said that all we need is a phone call a few hours before, but we're not getting this. This morning he also said that he's having an open house this Sunday and has asked us to clean - I feel like if he wants the house clean enough for an open house, he can hire a cleaning service. He has offered us a cash incentive for keeping the house clean and letting realtors in whenever they want, but I would like to know what our rights actually are regarding a landlord selling a property.
04/05/2007 |
Category: Landlord Tenant |
State: Washington |
#2693
Answer:
You cannot prevent the landlord from selling the property if he owns it. A Landlord has the right to enter the premises at reasonable times to inspect, maintain, and show the premises. Except in the case of emergency, a landlord must gain permission from the tenant in order to enter. The Tenant may not unreasonably deny permission. Either party may obtain injunctive relief from the courts if the other party is unreasonable regarding access issues.