Tenant in place, no lease, what are the possibilities ?

[Tristan S.]

Hello guys,

I am in Texas, I have a question about the following situation, the seller has tenants in place, they owe money to the seller. No lease in place, most likely no deposit either, seller says that they are on a month to month situation. Tenants are family friends.

If I were to buy this house, what are my rights and the rights of the existing tenants? What would be the best way to approach the situation to get them out?

Thanks

[Fred Heller]

@Tristan S.  In Texas if the tenants are on a month-to-month tenancy you are only required to give them a 30 days notice to terminate the tenancy unless there is a longer notice in a written lease. Sounds like the current owner does not have one.

To protect yourself I would ask the seller to get an estoppel from the tenants. If there is no deposit, this will be your defense in case the tenants come back and claim they paid a deposit.

If there is a deposit, the seller should transfer the money to you at closing. You'll need to keep it in a separate account. Within five days you'll need to send a change of management and accounting of security deposit notice to the tenants. This notice explains that ownership has changed, where the rent should be paid, and who is responsible for the security deposit.