My Landlord Is Selling: What Are My Rights In 2026?

A letter arrives, or an estate agent turns up with a camera, and you find out the place you live in is going on the market. It's unsettling, and the first thing most people assume is that they're about to be homeless.

Usually you're not. And since May 2026 you have considerably more protection than most articles on this subject still describe.

The short version

• Selling the property doesn't end your tenancy. It transfers to the new owner exactly as it is, including your deposit.
• Section 21 no-fault eviction is gone. It was abolished on 1 May 2026, so a landlord can no longer simply give two months' notice because they fancy selling.
• To make you leave in order to sell, they now need Ground 1A, which means four months' notice, and it can't be used in the first twelve months of your tenancy.
• If they evict you to sell, they can't re-let it for twelve months. That's worth remembering, because it's checkable.

First, the sale itself changes nothing

This is the bit that calms most people down. Your tenancy is attached to the property, not to the person who owns it. When it sells, the buyer takes on your tenancy on exactly the terms you already have.

Same rent. Same agreement. Same rights. The new owner becomes your landlord and inherits every obligation the old one had, including repairs. They can't hand you a new agreement and tell you to sign it, and they can't put the rent up just because they've bought the place.

Your deposit has to be transferred to the new landlord and stay protected in a government approved scheme. If it isn't, that's a serious failure with real consequences, and our guide to your deposit rights covers what to do about it.

You keep paying rent as normal. Just make sure you get written confirmation of who to pay and where before you change any standing order, because "your landlord has changed, please pay this account instead" is a common scam. Confirm it independently.

What changed in May 2026

This is where a lot of older advice, including our own previous version of this guide, is now out of date.

Before 1 May 2026, a landlord who wanted to sell with vacant possession could serve a Section 21 notice. No reason needed, two months, and that was broadly that.

Section 21 no longer exists. The Renters' Rights Act abolished it, and every tenancy is now periodic. A landlord who wants you out has to use one of the specified grounds for possession and prove it in court if you don't leave.

We've covered the wider changes in what the Renters' Rights Act changed and when.

How a landlord can now make you leave to sell

The relevant one is Ground 1A, which covers a landlord wanting to sell the property. Three things about it matter to you.

Four months' notice

They must give you at least four months before they can even apply to court for possession. Not two. If the notice you've received gives less, it isn't valid.

It can't be used in your first twelve months

There's a twelve month protected period at the start of a tenancy. A landlord can serve notice during it, but the notice can't expire until the twelve months are up. In practice that often means more than four months' notice, and it means nobody can move you in and sell out from under you a few months later.

It's a mandatory ground, but it still has to be proven

If the landlord proves the ground and you have no defence, the court must grant possession. That said, "mandatory" doesn't mean automatic. They have to serve a valid notice, follow the process, and satisfy the court. You don't have to leave on the date in the notice, and you can't be removed without a court order and a bailiff.

One more restriction worth knowing: Ground 1A can't be used at all where your tenancy was already an assured tenancy before 1 May 2026.

The twelve month re-letting ban

Here's the protection that stops Ground 1A becoming the new Section 21.

After using the selling ground to get possession, a landlord normally cannot market the property for let, or re-let it, for twelve months.

The reason that matters is that it makes a dishonest eviction visible. If you were told to leave so the place could be sold, and three months later it's back on Rightmove as a rental, something has gone wrong. That's the kind of thing worth raising with your council's private housing team, and worth taking advice on, because there can be real consequences for the landlord.

It's also, frankly, the kind of thing that's easy to check. Set an alert on the address.

Viewings, and being left alone

A property being on the market does not suspend your right to live in it peacefully.

You have a right to quiet enjoyment of your home. Your landlord or their agent must give at least 24 hours' written notice before entering, and come at a reasonable time. That applies to viewings exactly as it applies to repairs.

You can:

• Refuse viewings outright if your tenancy agreement doesn't require you to allow them. Many don't.
• Agree to specific times that suit you, rather than an open door policy.
• Ask that you or someone you trust is present.
• Say no to photographs of your possessions, and ask for existing photos to be removed if your things are identifiable.

Agents letting themselves in with a key and no notice is not a grey area. It's unlawful, and our guide on landlords entering without permission covers what to do.

Being obstructive for its own sake rarely helps, and a reasonable arrangement usually serves you better. But it should be an arrangement, not an instruction.

What to do now

1. Check whether you've actually been given notice, or just told the place is being sold. They're very different, and most sales happen with the tenant staying put.
2. If you have a notice, check the ground and the dates. Four months minimum, and not expiring inside your first twelve months.
3. Confirm your deposit is still protected and gets transferred properly. You can check directly with the scheme.
4. Get everything in writing, including who your landlord now is and where rent goes.
5. Keep paying rent. Withholding it doesn't strengthen your position and creates a separate ground for possession.
6. Take advice early if you've been served notice. Shelter and Citizens Advice are both free, and your council has a housing options team.

If the notice looks wrong

Plenty aren't valid. Common problems are the wrong notice period, the wrong ground, dates that fall inside the protected period, or a landlord who hasn't protected the deposit properly.

Don't just ignore it, and don't assume it's correct either. Get it checked. A notice that isn't valid can't be enforced, and you cannot lawfully be evicted without a court order regardless of what any letter says.

Our guide on what to do if your landlord tries to evict you unfairly goes through it in more detail, and problems with your landlord covers where else to turn.

The realistic picture

Most rented properties that get sold are sold with the tenant still in them, often to another landlord who wants the income and the fact that someone reliable already lives there. The disruption is usually a few viewings and a change of bank details.

Where it does mean leaving, you now get four months rather than two, you can't be caught out in your first year, and the property can't quietly reappear as a rental afterwards.

And if the sale is handled badly, with unannounced viewings, pressure to leave early, or a notice that doesn't add up, that's exactly the sort of thing the next tenant would want to know before they sign. Reviewing your landlord and agent on Marks Out Of Tenancy is how that gets recorded.

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This guide covers England and reflects the Renters' Rights Act as in force from 1 May 2026. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have different systems. It's general information rather than legal advice, and if you have been served notice you should get advice on your specific circumstances. Sources: GOV.UK, Renters' Rights Act overview for tenants, GOV.UK, grounds for possession, Shelter.