Landlord sold property (have 1 yr lease)

[mr2mike]

A person I know was living at a place. She did quite a few upgrades because she was going to be living there for the 1 year based on the lease she signed. The landlord has since sold the house in a sly way so that she didn't know. They have given her 3 months notice but she would like to move to a new place she found this week, moving in June 1st. This wouldn't be one months notice now, being the middle of the month. Does she need to give 1 month's notice still or has the terms of the 1 year lease been broken with the sale of the house?

Thanks

[Hakkola]

http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/reho/yogureho/fash/fash_001.cfm

Another good source

http://www.slsedmonton.com/civil/landlord-and-tenant-law/

[Amysicle]

When I looked into this two years ago, I believe that the new owner of the house has to honour the rental agreement the previous owner had with the tenant. So if the lease agreement had an end date 9 months from the date of sale, that would be the end of tenancy regardless of how many months notice the owner gave her to get the eff out.

It's possible the new owners would want her out of there ASAP and wouldn't mind that the tenant left in the next few weeks. Does your friend know when the possession date is?

[Hakkola]

I think what OP is saying is that the tenant, his friend, wants to leave earlier than what the original lease agreement provided, and is hoping the agreement is void due to a change in ownership.

[mr2mike]

Yup, Hakkola is right. I don't know posession date but I would guess it's in 3 months, which is why the current landlords said, she can stay for 3 months.
She wants to leave now as she's found a place she likes and feels she doesn't owe them anything but contractually, can she do this and still get the damage deposit back?

[benyl]

http://forums.beyond.ca/st/250716/alberta-landlord-tenant-questions-faq/

[BlackArcher101]

ASFAIK, The existing lease still stands irregardless of the property being sold. This is in the eyes of both the landlord and the tenant.

[autosm]

She could stay the year if she wants? If they want her to leave sooner they may have to make it worth it to her.

She should get all her money back and maybe a little cash to move? That is if the new owners want to have her out.

I am 98.9 % sure the original lease will stand. I think the original lease is broken because of the 90 day notice?

[mr2mike]

Thanks for your help. Looks like to be a jerk about the whole thing she would just stay put rather than finding a place asap.

I know if the landlord wants you out to say move family in or other reasons, they give 90 days. But if it's sold, the original lease agreement stands?

[shakalaka]

Yes it stands. The buyer is the one who is supposed to do all checks and make sure there are no liens or 3rd party interests on the property before purchasing. So if you friend wants, she can stay there until the complete lease agreement and legally the new owner can't do anything about it. Will also depend on what the termination clauses in the original lease agreement included. As to under what circumstances can the lease be terminated by the landlord.

[bituerbo]

My old landlord did this to me and some other tennants... sold the building (or at least thought he had), and attempted to 'terminate' all leases by providing 3mos notice to evict.

Some of the tennants challenged the eviction notices, turns out they didn't stand up which caused the sale of the building (for condo development) to not go through and I think a lot of people lost money as a result. The whole thing was really shady, a bunch of east indian guys trying to make a quick buck. I jetted the month I got the evicion notice (found a nicer/bigger place for similar coin) and had to file small claims (no trial, they just caved immediately) against the shady Indian guys to get my damage deposit back.

===

Your friend could be a stick in the mud, and honour the 1-year lease until moving expenses are paid/lease broken immediately. Get her money back from the 'upgrades' she's done.

[mr2mike]

Good advice from your experience. I will send this to her and see what she does. It's really up to her but she's definitely got some rights here.

[masoncgy]

It's 90 days notice to terminate the lease in the case of a sale of a property to another buyer.

Condo conversions or major renovations are different... they require a 1 year notice to the tenant that the premises will be converted/completely renovated. This rule was put in place in the last couple of years because of the sheer number of conversions occurring in the province.

[Dycker]

^ Only if it's periodic.

You can't end a fixed term lease before the end date, unless it is a major breach.

[Dycker]

From http://www.slsedmonton.com/civil/landlord-and-tenant-law/#termination-tenancies:


A landlord cannot end a fixed term tenancy before its end date unless there has been fault on the part of the tenant...

A substantial breach occurs if the tenant:
- consistently fails to pay the rent when it is due;
- interferes with the landlord’s rights or the rights of other tenants in a significant manner (i.e., loud music on an ongoing basis);
- does something illegal on the premises;
- behaves in a way that endangers persons or property;
- significantly damages the premises or the common areas of the building;
- fails to keep the premises, or property rented with the premises, reasonably clean;
- fails to vacate the premises at the end of the tenancy;