You can sell a rented home with the tenant still living in it, or you can ask for it back first and sell it empty. The first leaves the tenancy as it is. The second now needs a Section 8 notice, a legal reason the court accepts and at least four months’ notice, because landlords can no longer use Section 21 to end a tenancy. This article sets out both routes, what a buyer takes on and what to have ready.
The two routes side by side
| What to compare | Sell with the tenant staying | Sell with vacant possession |
|---|---|---|
| The tenancy | It carries on, with the buyer as the new landlord. | It ends when the tenant gives it up, by notice or surrender, or when a possession order is carried out. |
| What the law asks of you | The new landlord must tell the tenant in writing. Until someone does, you stay liable alongside the buyer for breaches of the tenancy. | A Section 8 notice on Ground 1A with four months’ notice. The ground cannot be used in the first 12 months of a new tenancy. |
| What follows | The 12-month no-let rule does not apply, because it attaches to Grounds 1 and 1A. | A 12-month period in which you cannot re-let the property or market it to let. |
Selling with the tenant staying
Since 1 May 2026 every assured shorthold tenancy has been an assured periodic tenancy, a rolling tenancy with no fixed end date. A sale does not by itself end it. The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 deals with exactly this situation. Section 3 says that when a landlord’s interest is assigned, the new landlord must give the tenant written notice of the assignment and of the landlord’s name and address. The deadline is the next rent day or, if that falls within two months of the assignment, the end of those two months. A new landlord who fails to do so without reasonable excuse commits a summary offence.
Until the tenant has had written notice from either landlord, the old landlord is liable alongside the new one for breaches of the tenancy. The old landlord can give the notice, so ask your conveyancer to arrange it for completion.
The deposit
The GOV.UK pages we read do not say how a deposit passes to a buyer, and the schemes run their own handovers. The Deposit Protection Service says the current landlord can transfer responsibility through an online account, or the incoming landlord can request it and the transfer goes ahead if the current landlord authorises it or does not reply within seven calendar days. We have not checked the other approved schemes. Ask your conveyancer to agree with the buyer’s solicitor who moves the deposit and when.
Viewings
GOV.UK tells tenants that they have the right to live in the property undisturbed, and that a landlord has to give at least 24 hours’ notice and visit at a reasonable time of day, unless it is an emergency needing immediate access. That page is written about inspections and repairs and does not mention buyers’ viewings, so do not treat 24 hours as a right to bring buyers in. Read the tenancy agreement, ask the tenant what suits them and put the times in writing.
A licence does not travel with the property
Enfield’s selective licensing scheme started on 1 September 2026 in 17 wards, including Edmonton Green, Upper Edmonton and Lower Edmonton. Under section 91(6) of the Housing Act 2004, a selective licence may not be transferred to another person. If your rented home is licensed, a buyer cannot simply take over your licence. Enfield’s pages do not say what a buyer should do between completion and getting their own, so ask the council early. Our licensing article covers the scheme.
The papers to have to hand
- Gas safety record, if there is gas. You must keep it for two years and give a copy to each new tenant before they move in.
- Electrical installation condition report (EICR). Keep a copy until the later of the next test being due and the next test being done, and give a copy to whoever carries out the next test.
- EPC. You must order one before marketing a property for sale. It is valid for 10 years, and the seller must show it to the buyer.
- Deposit details: which scheme holds it and the prescribed information you gave the tenant.
- Tenancy agreement, and the Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet if you were required to give it to the tenant by 31 May 2026.
The HSE page and the regulations do not say you must hand these to a buyer. Have them ready anyway, because your conveyancer and the buyer’s are likely to ask. Our legal paperwork guide covers a seller’s other documents and the landlord legislation guide explains the safety checks.
Selling with vacant possession
Since 1 May 2026 a landlord in England can only seek possession with a Section 8 notice, which means giving a ground. Selling is Ground 1A. It is a mandatory ground, so a judge must make a possession order if satisfied that the ground is made out.
- The test. The Act says the landlord must intend to sell a freehold or leasehold interest in the home, or grant a lease of more than 21 years. GOV.UK says evidence could include proof that you have instructed an estate agent.
- The notice. You use Form 3A and give four months’ notice before you can apply to court.
- The first year. You cannot ask the tenant to leave for this reason within the first 12 months of a new tenancy. You can serve notice during that year, but the date named in the notice must be at least a year after the tenancy began, so the notice may need to be longer than four months.
- Older tenancies. Ground 1A is not available where the tenancy was an ordinary (non-shorthold) assured tenancy before 1 May 2026.
- The deposit. For most grounds you must show it was protected, the scheme’s rules were followed and the prescribed information was given.
The tenant does not have to leave on the date in the notice. If they stay, the landlord needs a court order, and has 12 months from serving the notice to start court proceedings, or it expires. On a mandatory ground an outright order usually sets a date within 14 days, and a judge may allow up to six weeks if leaving earlier would cause exceptional hardship. Our Renters’ Rights Act guide has the other grounds.
The 12-month no-let rule
Having relied on Ground 1A, you may not let the property on a tenancy of 21 years or less, or let someone occupy it under a paid licence. You may not market it to let, or authorise anyone else to, during the restricted period. The rule follows from relying on the ground, by serving the notice or filing the claim, not from whether the sale goes ahead.
Say you serve a valid notice on 1 March 2027 that names 1 July 2027 as the earliest date proceedings can begin. The restricted period would run from 1 March 2027 to 30 June 2028. If you re-let or advertise to let in that window, the council can impose a financial penalty of up to £40,000 as an alternative to prosecution. The rule ends early if the court orders possession on a different ground. It does not catch a lease of more than 21 years, or a licence granted to someone who has agreed to buy the home or take such a lease. The Act’s family-occupation exception applies to Ground 1, not Ground 1A.
What the sources do not settle
- Existing tenancies. Section 147 of the Renters’ Rights Act treats a fixed term and the periodic tenancy that follows as one tenancy that began when the fixed term did. A renewed fixed term or a new tenant may count differently, so take advice.
- Whether a tenant must allow viewings. We found no official rule on it.
Where to start
John Grants offers a free sales valuation and a free lettings valuation, so you can look at both routes for your own property. Capital Gains Tax is not covered here: see GOV.UK on tax when you sell property and our costs of selling guide. For the sale process, start with how selling works.
Questions readers ask
Does the tenant have to move out if I sell?
Not because of the sale alone. If the property is sold with the tenant in place, the tenancy carries on with the buyer as the new landlord, who must tell the tenant in writing. To get the home empty, a landlord needs a Section 8 possession ground. Ground 1A (selling) needs four months’ notice, cannot be used in the first 12 months of a new tenancy, and if the tenant does not leave the landlord needs a court order.
How much notice must I give the tenant for a viewing?
GOV.UK tells tenants that a landlord has to give at least 24 hours’ notice and visit at a reasonable time of day, unless it is an emergency needing immediate access. That page is written about inspections and repairs and does not mention viewings for a sale, so check the tenancy agreement and agree times with the tenant rather than relying on 24 hours as a settled rule for viewings.
Can I re-let the property if my sale falls through?
Not straight away if you served notice on Ground 1 or 1A. The Act bars letting, and marketing the property to let, during a restricted period. It starts when you serve the notice and ends 12 months after the earliest date in the notice on which court proceedings can begin. The council can impose a financial penalty of up to £40,000 as an alternative to prosecution. Exceptions are listed in the Act and the GOV.UK guidance, so take advice before re-letting.
Do I still give the tenant the How to Rent guide?
Not for a tenancy under the new rules. GOV.UK withdrew the How to Rent guide on 1 May 2026 and points to its guidance on assured periodic tenancies instead. Written information for new tenancies and the Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet are covered by separate GOV.UK pages, so check what applies to your tenancy.
Sources
- GOV.UK, Repossessing your privately rented property after 1 May 2026, last updated 13 July 2026.
- GOV.UK, Grounds for possession: guidance for landlords and letting agents, updated 1 May 2026.
- GOV.UK, Enforcement measures for landlords: Renters’ Rights Act 2025, published 1 May 2026.
- GOV.UK, Notices of possession served from 1 May 2026: a guide for tenants, published 7 April 2026.
- GOV.UK, Private renting: your rights and responsibilities, read on 16 October 2026.
- GOV.UK, Assured periodic tenancies: a guide for landlords, read on 16 October 2026.
- GOV.UK, Energy Performance Certificates, read on 16 October 2026.
- GOV.UK, How to rent, withdrawn 1 May 2026.
- GOV.UK, The Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026, last updated 8 June 2026.
- legislation.gov.uk, Renters’ Rights Act 2025, Schedule 1 (Ground 1A), read on 16 October 2026.
- legislation.gov.uk, Renters’ Rights Act 2025, section 13 (inserting section 16E into the Housing Act 1988), read on 16 October 2026.
- legislation.gov.uk, Renters’ Rights Act 2025, section 17 (inserting section 16M, the restricted period), read on 16 October 2026.
- legislation.gov.uk, Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 3, read on 16 October 2026.
- legislation.gov.uk, Housing Act 2004, section 91, read on 16 October 2026.
- legislation.gov.uk, The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, regulation 3, read on 16 October 2026.
- Health and Safety Executive, Gas safety: landlords and letting agents, read on 16 October 2026.
- Enfield Council, Selective licensing scheme, read on 16 October 2026.
- Deposit Protection Service, Quick answers, read on 16 October 2026.
