Passkey Properties

Selling a rental with tenants in Louisiana

Can I sell a rental house in Louisiana with tenants living in it?

What a sale does to your tenants' leases in Louisiana, recorded or not, plus deposits, notice and evictions: how to sell a rental with tenants.

By Passkey Properties · Updated · 7-minute read

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws change and every case is different, so check yours with a Louisiana attorney or free legal aid.

Yes. In Louisiana, a sale doesn't end your tenants' lease, and the buyer doesn't take it over unless they agree to. Decide early whether you're selling with the tenants in place or with the house empty, settle the leases and deposits in the sale papers, and end a lease only the lawful way, because a tenant who loses out because of the sale can come after you.

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What a sale does to the lease

A 2026 law, Act 240, rewrote these articles of Louisiana's Civil Code, mostly in new words for the same rules. As they stand since August 1, 2026:

  • A sale doesn't end the lease. Whether the tenant can stay depends on whether the lease was recorded or the buyer took it over. If the sale costs the tenant, they can sue you, the seller.
  • The buyer isn't automatically the new landlord. The buyer steps into the lease only by agreeing to take it over. Until the right to collect rent is assigned to the buyer, the tenant still owes rent to you.
  • A recorded lease binds a buyer. A lease filed in the parish conveyance records has effect against later buyers from the day it's filed. A short "notice of lease" can be recorded instead of the whole lease.
  • An unrecorded lease doesn't bind a buyer on its own, but it does if the buyer agrees in the sale contract to take the house subject to it. And if a buyer who isn't bound puts the tenant out before the lease ends, you may owe the tenant damages for breaking your promise of peaceful possession.

Check two things now: whether any lease was recorded (a title company can tell you) and what each lease says about a sale.

Selling with the tenants in place

Some buyers want a house that's already rented. If you sell that way, put it in writing:

  • The purchase agreement says the buyer takes the house subject to the leases.
  • At closing, you assign the leases and the right to collect rent to the buyer, and the buyer agrees in writing to take over your duties as landlord.
  • The deposits go to the buyer. Louisiana law requires that, and it's what ends your responsibility for them.
  • Each tenant gets a letter, ideally signed by you and the buyer, saying who owns the house now, where to pay rent and from what date. Until a tenant learns of the change, rent paid to you still counts.

Give the buyer copies of every lease, a list of rents, due dates and deposits, and any notices you've sent.

Showings. Read what your lease says about entering the unit. Give tenants plenty of notice, work around their schedules and keep visits few.

Tenants with a Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8). Call the housing authority early. A buyer can take over the voucher contract only with the housing authority's written consent. And during the first lease term, selling the house isn't a reason to end the tenancy.

Selling it empty

You can end a lease only the way the law and the lease allow:

  • A lease with an end date ends on that date without notice. But if the tenant stays a week past it and you haven't given notice, it rolls over month to month. If you need the house empty, give written notice to vacate before the end date; you can give it up to 30 days ahead.
  • A month-to-month lease ends with written notice given at least 10 days before the end of a month. A lease with no agreed term is month to month.
  • Before the end date, a sale isn't a reason to end the lease unless the lease itself allows it. You can ask a tenant to leave early by agreement. Put the move-out date, any help with moving costs and the deposit refund in writing.

Never change the locks, shut off utilities or remove a tenant's things to get them out. That's a wrongful eviction. Only a court can order a tenant to leave.

Security deposits

  • If you sell during a lease, you have to turn the deposits over to the buyer. That releases you, and the buyer returns them when the leases end.
  • When a lease ends, the deposit is due back within one month. You may keep only what's reasonably needed to cover the tenant's unpaid rent or other default, or unreasonable wear. If you keep any, send an itemized statement of what you kept and why to the forwarding address the tenant gives you. Since August 1, 2026, the law allows up to 15 more days for that statement.
  • The penalty is real. If a landlord willfully keeps a deposit, the tenant can recover the amount wrongly kept plus $300 or twice that amount, whichever is more, from the landlord or the new owner. Not paying within 30 days of a written demand counts as willful. Tenants can't sign these rights away.

If a tenant won't leave

Evictions in Louisiana go through a court: a justice of the peace, city or parish court, or district court. The steps:

  1. Notice to vacate. It must be in writing and give at least five days to leave, unless the lease waived it.
  2. A rule to show cause. You file, and the court sets a hearing no earlier than the third day after the tenant is served. In New Orleans, First City Court says hearings are about two weeks after filing.
  3. Judgment and warrant. If the tenant hasn't left 24 hours after the judgment, the court issues a warrant for the sheriff, constable or marshal to give you possession.

An appeal delays this only if the tenant meets strict conditions within 24 hours. Three more cautions:

  • If the rental has a federally backed mortgage or is in a federal housing program, a federal law may require 30 days' notice to vacate. Ask a lawyer whether it applies.
  • Accepting rent after a notice to vacate can undo the notice.
  • If the rental is in foreclosure, Louisiana law requires you to tell your tenants in writing within seven days of being served with the notice of seizure.

Your options

  • Sell with the tenants in place to a buyer who takes over the leases. Rent keeps coming in until closing.
  • Wait for the leases to end, then sell the house empty, listed or as-is.
  • List it with an agent, rented or empty. Showings will depend on your tenants. Compare the costs in cash buyer or listing.
  • Keep it and hire a property manager.
  • Sell it as-is for cash if repairs or tenant trouble have worn you out. Selling as-is still means telling a buyer what you know; see selling as-is in Louisiana.

Ask a tax professional how the sale will be taxed before you sign. And if the house shows well, your tenants will cooperate and you have time, listing may bring more than a cash offer.

Free help

  • For your tenants: Southeast Louisiana Legal Services helps renters who qualify with evictions, voucher problems and deposits. Call 1-844-244-7871 or apply online. The Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center, (504) 596-2100 or (877) 445-2100, defends evictions in Orleans Parish and handles housing discrimination.
  • For you: the Louisiana State Bar Association's Modest Means directory lists lawyers who may charge less, for households earning up to 400% of the federal poverty guidelines. Its self-help page lists resources by parish.
  • HUD-approved housing counselors advise on renting, missed payments and foreclosure, free or at low cost. Use the CFPB's search or call (800) 569-4287.
  • Behind on the rental's mortgage? See behind on your mortgage.

How Passkey can help

Tell us about the leases and deposits when you ask for an offer. We'll set up one short walk-through at a time that works for your tenants, then make a written cash offer within 24 hours, with no repairs, fees or commission. You pick the closing date. Get my cash offer or call (985) 317-2695.

Questions

Do I have to tell my tenants I'm selling?

Check your lease. Either way, they'll need to know whom to pay after closing, and a buyer will want to see the house, so tell them early and in writing. If the house is in foreclosure, the law requires it.

Can the buyer end my tenants' lease?

A buyer who takes over the lease, or who buys a house with a recorded lease, has to honor it until it ends. A buyer who isn't bound could try to evict, but then you may owe the tenant damages. Settle it in the purchase agreement.

What happens to the security deposits?

You hand them to the buyer at closing, and the buyer returns them when each lease ends.

How long does an eviction take?

The law sets minimums: five days' notice unless the lease waived it, a hearing no sooner than the third day after the tenant is served, then 24 hours after judgment. Court calendars, appeals and federal notice rules can add time.

Ready to sell the rental or the empty house?

Sources

  1. La. C.C. art. 2711: a sale doesn't end the lease (as rewritten by Act 240 of 2026) legis.la.gov
  2. La. C.C. art. 2712: the buyer isn't bound by the lease unless it assumes it (Act 240 of 2026) legis.la.gov
  3. La. C.C. art. 2681.1: a lease has effect against third persons once recorded (Act 240 of 2026) legis.la.gov
  4. Act 240 of the 2026 Regular Session (SB 77), with revision comments legis.la.gov
  5. Act 240 of 2026, résumé digest: effective August 1, 2026 legis.la.gov
  6. La. C.C. art. 3338: a lease of an immovable has no effect on third persons unless recorded legis.la.gov
  7. La. C.C. art. 3346: where instruments are recorded legis.la.gov
  8. La. R.S. 9:2742: recording a notice of lease legis.la.gov
  9. La. C.C. art. 3506: who is a third person legis.la.gov
  10. La. C.C. art. 2700: the warranty of peaceful possession legis.la.gov
  11. La. C.C. art. 2643: when an assignment is effective against the debtor legis.la.gov
  12. La. C.C. art. 2680: a residential lease with no agreed term is month to month legis.la.gov
  13. La. C.C. art. 2720: a fixed-term lease ends without notice legis.la.gov
  14. La. C.C. art. 2721: reconduction when the tenant stays on legis.la.gov
  15. La. C.C. art. 2723: a reconducted lease runs month to month legis.la.gov
  16. La. C.C. art. 2728: when notice of termination must be given legis.la.gov
  17. La. C.C. art. 2729: notice of termination must be in writing legis.la.gov
  18. La. R.S. 9:3251: security deposits, including on a sale (as amended by Act 63 of 2026) legis.la.gov
  19. HB 292 (2026 Regular Session), Act 63: bill history legis.la.gov
  20. La. R.S. 9:3252: penalty for wrongly keeping a deposit legis.la.gov
  21. La. R.S. 9:3254: tenants can't waive deposit rights legis.la.gov
  22. La. C.C.P. art. 4701: notice to vacate legis.la.gov
  23. La. C.C.P. art. 4731: the rule to evict legis.la.gov
  24. La. C.C.P. art. 4732: the hearing legis.la.gov
  25. La. C.C.P. art. 4733: the warrant for possession legis.la.gov
  26. La. C.C.P. art. 4735: appeals of an eviction judgment legis.la.gov
  27. La. C.C.P. art. 4844: city and parish courts hear evictions legis.la.gov
  28. La. C.C.P. art. 4912: justice of the peace courts hear evictions legis.la.gov
  29. First City Court, New Orleans: eviction procedure guidelines (2022) orleanscivildistrictcourt.org
  30. Southeast Louisiana Legal Services: disaster FAQ for renters (wrongful eviction) slls.org
  31. 15 U.S.C. 9058(c): federal 30-day notice to vacate for covered dwellings govinfo.gov
  32. HUD-52641: Housing Assistance Payments contract (assignment to a new owner; good cause) hud.gov
  33. 24 CFR 982.310: owner termination of tenancy (Housing Choice Voucher) govinfo.gov
  34. La. R.S. 9:3260.1: telling tenants about a foreclosure legis.la.gov
  35. Southeast Louisiana Legal Services: help for renters slls.org
  36. Southeast Louisiana Legal Services: contact and intake slls.org
  37. Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center: eviction defense lafairhousing.org
  38. Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center: contact lafairhousing.org
  39. Louisiana State Bar Association: Modest Means directory lsba.org
  40. Louisiana State Bar Association: self-help services and legal forms by parish lsba.org
  41. CFPB: find a housing counselor consumerfinance.gov
  42. HUD: avoiding foreclosure, (800) 569-4287 for a housing counselor hud.gov

Free help, whoever you choose

They're free or low-cost and have nothing to do with us.

  • If you're behind on payments, talk to a counselor first.

    They'll go through your lender's options with you before you decide anything.

  • HUD-approved housing counselors

    Free or very low-cost help with your lender’s options, nationwide.

    (800) 569-4287Find one near you (CFPB)

  • Southeast Louisiana Legal Services

    Free legal help, with offices in Covington, Hammond, New Orleans and more.

    slls.org

  • Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center

    Help with housing discrimination and foreclosure.

    (504) 596-2100

Get your cash offer

Tell us where the house is and the best number to reach you. We’ll be in touch within 24 hours, and there’s no obligation.

Prefer to talk? Call (985) 317-2695.

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