You can sell a house with tenants in it in New York, but a sale does not end a tenancy. The buyer takes the house subject to the lease, a month-to-month tenant keeps the same protections against the new owner, and nobody can ask a tenant to leave simply because the house changed hands. That rule shapes who will buy and what they will pay. Team Modern X sells tenant-occupied one- to three-family homes across Nassau, Suffolk and Queens, in English and Spanish.
Step 1: Know exactly what tenancy you have
- Fixed-term lease: The tenant stays until it ends. Sell occupied, or time the closing for after expiration and give non-renewal notice.
- Month-to-month or expired lease: To end the tenancy or decline to renew, New York requires written notice of 30 days if the tenant has been there under a year, 60 days after one year and 90 days after two (Real Property Law §226-c).
- Rent-regulated: Rent-stabilized apartments in New York City, and units in Nassau and Westchester communities under the Emergency Tenant Protection Act, carry renewal rights the buyer inherits.
- Good Cause Eviction: The 2024 law limits non-renewals in New York City and in municipalities that opt in; owners of ten or fewer units are exempt, and no Nassau or Suffolk community had opted in as of October 2026.
Have a landlord-tenant attorney check any notice before it goes out; one that is a day short can cost a selling season.
Step 2: Decide how you want to sell
- Sell occupied: Fastest and simplest; buyers are mostly investors. A reliable tenant at market rent helps the price; one far below market or behind on rent hurts it.
- Sell vacant: Opens the house to owner-occupant buyers, who usually pay more on Long Island. A two-family buyer who plans to live there typically needs one unit empty at closing.
- Sell to the tenant: New York gives tenants no automatic right of first refusal unless the lease grants one, but a tenant who wants to buy already knows the house.
If vacancy is the goal, a voluntary move-out agreement (“cash for keys”) drafted by your attorney trades a firm move-out date for a payment, and is usually cheaper than a holdover case, which can take months. New York City regulates how buyout offers are made. Our Cash Offer or List comparison shows the price gap between an investor sale and a listing.
Step 3: Tell your tenants early and make showings workable
Nothing requires you to warn tenants before listing, but surprising them with a photographer at the door is how showings get refused. Tell them your plan in writing: the lease stands, every showing comes with notice, and their deposit transfers to the new owner. Tenants are entitled to reasonable notice and reasonable hours; 24 hours is customary unless your lease says otherwise. We group showings into a few windows a week and suggest a small rent credit for cooperation. Richard speaks with Spanish-speaking tenants directly.
Step 4: The paperwork buyers will ask for
Before contract, the buyer’s attorney will want every current lease and rider, a rent roll with payment history, security deposit amounts and where they are held, any open violations and, in New York City, proof of HPD registration. Expect a tenant estoppel letter confirming rent, lease dates and deposit. The Property Condition Disclosure Statement required since March 2024 still applies; it is about the house, not the occupants.
Step 5: Closing with tenants in place
Tenant items are settled on the attorney-prepared closing statement. Rent for the closing month is prorated. Security deposits must be turned over to the buyer at closing or within five days, and you must notify each tenant by registered or certified mail that the deposit has moved and to whom (General Obligations Law §7-105). The buyer then tells tenants where to pay rent.
Costs and taxes
Selling costs match any New York sale: commission, your attorney and the state transfer tax of $2 per $500, plus the city transfer tax in the five boroughs; Selling a Home in New York has the full list. Profit is where rentals differ. The federal exclusion of $250,000 ($500,000 married) covers only a home you owned and lived in for two of the last five years; on a two-family you occupied, it generally covers your unit, not the rental, and depreciation you claimed is taxed at sale. A 1031 exchange can defer tax if you buy another investment property. Talk to your accountant before you accept an offer.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to tell my tenants I am selling?
No law requires notice before listing, but tenants must be notified by registered or certified mail when their deposit transfers, and the new owner must say where to pay rent. Telling them early makes the sale smoother.
Can the buyer evict my tenants after closing?
Only for the reasons you could: the lease ending with proper notice, non-payment or a lease violation, and only through the courts. A buyer who wants to live there waits out the lease or negotiates a move-out.
Can I show the house if the tenant says no?
Most leases give the landlord access to show the home with reasonable notice, so refusing every showing is usually a breach. Forcing it rarely works; a written schedule, a rent credit or a move-out agreement does.
Get your free Long Island or Queens home value
Richard will send you a free, no-obligation estimate within 24 hours, based on recent sales near your home rather than an online algorithm, as occupied and as vacant. We serve Nassau County, Suffolk County and Queens and the Bronx, in English and en español.
Get my free home value Contact Richard
Thinking about it but not ready to talk? Download the free Home Seller Guide or the Home Buyer Guide.
Team Modern X, Jason Mitchell Real Estate NY. 45 Cherry Valley Ave, West Hempstead, NY 11552. Open Mon–Fri 9am–7pm, Sat 10am–5pm.