Buying a home that is already rented may seem like a good investment, but it also raises many legal questions. What happens to the tenant who lives there? Can the new owner kick him out? The Urban Leases Law (LAU) clearly establishes the conditions under which a new owner can terminate the contractand there is only one exception that allows it.
According to article 14 of the LAU, when a rented home is sold, the new owner is automatically subrogated to the rights and obligations of the former landlord. This means that you must respect the contract duration of existing lease, which is a minimum of five years, or seven if the previous landlord was a company.
“The purchaser of a rented home will be subrogated to the rights and obligations of the lessor during the first five years of validity of the contract, or seven years if the previous lessor was a legal entity, even if the requirements of article 34 of the Mortgage Law are met”
That is, even if the property changes hands, the tenant maintains his or her right to continue living in it. The new owner cannot evict you or modify the conditions of the contract during that minimum period.
The only exception: when the buyer needs the home to live in it
The law contemplates a single exception that allows the new owner to recover the home before the end of the contract and that is if the home is to be used for personal use.
In accordance with article 9.3 of the LAU, you may recover the home to use it as your habitual residence or that of your immediate family members; the buyer could make use of this right.
Now, it must be taken into account that for this to occur, the contract itself must include a clause that refers to the recovery of the home for personal use by the landlord, according to confirms the Ministry of Housing itself through its website.
Only if the contract includes that clause, can the new owner kick out the tenant, and only to live in the home. You cannot do so in order to sell, renovate or rent again at another price.