Now What? My Landlord Plans to Sell or Sold the Building and I Want to Stay

Question: My landlord plans to sell the building or has already sold the building. What if I want to stay and keep my lease? 

• A landlord is allowed to sell a building that they own. The new owner buys the building with the tenants’ leases attached. That means the tenant doesn’t really have to do anything. The lease will automatically transfer to the new owner, who takes over as the landlord. After the house or apartment building is sold, the tenant will pay rent and complain about any problems to the new owner.
• Sometimes it is hard to figure out who the new owner is. You don’t want to pay your rent to the wrong person, or else you will still owe rent to the real landlord (and then you would be stuck suing the person you paid to get your money back).
  • In Chicago, if the Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance applies, the new owner should give all tenants notice that they are taking over and provide their contact information (full name, address, and telephone number). Section 5-12-090. 
  • If it’s hard to figure out who the new owner is, you can go to the Cook County Clerk’s Office of Record of Deeds Search to look up the deed. Doing this will show the name of the person or company that bought the house or apartment building.

Question: Can the landlord not renew my lease even if I want to stay? 

Yes. Unless your lease says it will be renewed, the new landlord does not have to renew your lease when it ends. The landlord needs to give the proper notice of nonrenewal according to the Chicago Fair Notice Ordinance (30, 60, or 120 days depending on how the tenant has lived in the home). 

Remember: A landlord cannot force the tenant to move out without going through the proper legal eviction process: Lockouts are illegal. 

If you want to stay longer and the landlord wants to keep you as a tenant, consider asking for and signing a new lease, which would start after the current lease expires.

Question: I’m concerned about a rent increase or a change in the lease terms.

• If you have a written fixed-term lease: The landlords need to honor the rent and lease terms specified in a written fixed-term lease. Rent cannot be increased mid-lease. 
• If your first written fixed-term lease expired and you continued to pay rent and live in the building: You likely have a verbal month-to-month lease. Then, the landlord must give notice before increasing rent. See below. 
• If you have a month-to-month lease: The landlord can increase rent without the tenant’s consent by giving proper notice. In Chicago, the landlord must give either 30, 60, or 120 days of notice before the rent increases to comply with the Chicago Fair Notice Ordinance. 

Question: What happens to my security deposit? 

• If the Chicago RLTO protects your security deposit: Both the old and new landlord are responsible for returning the security deposit until the security deposit is transferred. After it is transferred, the new landlord should notify the tenant about where it has been transferred within 14 days of taking over. For more info, click here.
• If the Chicago RLTO does not protect your security deposit: Unless the lease or local law state otherwise, the general rule is that once a building is sold, the new owner is liable for refunding the security deposit. It does not matter if the new owner never got it from the old owner.