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Rental and tenanted property

Selling a rental in Calgary with tenants still in it.

The tenancy is rarely what stops people. Not knowing what notice the law requires is. So here it is, before we say anything about buying it — whether you’re a tired landlord done with the 2 a.m. calls, or an owner whose renters simply came with the house.

The notice the Act actually requires.

TenancyNotice, because you’re selling
Month to monthThree full tenancy months
Week to weekOne full tenancy week
Yearly periodic90 days before the last day of the tenancy year
Fixed termCan’t be ended early for a sale. It runs to its end date and transfers with the property.
Or sell it to us tenanted, and no notice is needed at all. The tenancy is assigned to us at closing and the tenant is told who their landlord now is. Nobody gets moved. You’re out on the date you picked.
Two grounds, and they are not the same

Where the property is a detached or semi-detached house, or one condominium unit, the sale itself is the ground — once the conditions are satisfied or waived, the buyer does not have to be moving in.

For other premises — a unit in a fourplex, say — the ground requires the buyer or a relative of the buyer to be moving in. Same notice period, different test. Getting that wrong is how a notice ends up invalid three weeks before closing.

Major renovation or condominium conversion is also a ground, and it carries a full year of notice.

Three full tenancy months means what it says. If closing is 1 July, notice on a month-to-month has to be served by 1 April, not in May. The notice must be in writing, signed, identify the property and state the termination date.

A plain-language summary of the Residential Tenancies Act and its Ministerial Regulation, not legal advice, and we are not your lawyer. Alberta.ca publishes the current rules.

Why a tenanted property is hard to list

A listing needs access, and access needs a co-operative tenant. Showings have to be arranged around someone who has no reason to make the place look good and every reason to be somewhere else. Financed buyers want vacant possession, so the pool shrinks. Photographs show someone else’s furniture.

None of that applies to a direct sale. We look at it once, and we are buying the building and the land, not the housekeeping. If the tenant has stopped paying and won’t let anyone in, we can usually work from the exterior, the title and the tax roll, and price the uncertainty rather than pretend it isn’t there.

How the price is worked out

Tell us about the property

Say in the note whether it’s a fixed term or month to month, and we’ll tell you what the timing looks like.

We'll call you back the same day.

By sending this you’re asking Matthew Mai of Direct Home Buyer to ring you about this property. That is all it does. Your details are never sold and never passed to a lead network, and you can ask him to stop at any time. Privacy policy · Terms

The offer is free and there is no charge for the visit.

We buy tenanted

  • Houses with a basement suite
  • Half duplexes
  • Condo units
  • Small multi-family

Questions landlords ask

Can I sell a rental in Alberta with the tenant still living there?
Yes. A tenancy does not block a sale. What it changes is what the buyer gets on the closing date — a house with a tenancy attached, or a house with vacant possession — and getting to vacant possession takes notice that has to be given correctly and in advance.
How much notice do I have to give a tenant because I am selling?
For a periodic tenancy it depends on the period: three full tenancy months for a month-to-month, one full tenancy week for a week-to-week, and 90 days before the last day of the tenancy year for a yearly periodic tenancy. The notice has to be in writing, signed, identify the property and state the termination date.
Does the buyer have to be moving in for that notice to be valid?
Not always. Where the property is a detached or semi-detached house, or a single condominium unit, the sale itself is a ground once the conditions are satisfied or waived. For other premises the ground requires the buyer, or a relative of the buyer, to be moving in. It is worth knowing which one your property falls under before the notice goes out.
What happens to a fixed-term lease when the property sells?
It runs to its end date. Selling is not a way to end a fixed term early — the tenancy is assigned to the buyer, the tenant is told who the new landlord is, and the lease carries on under the same terms.
Can I give notice because the house is going to be renovated?
Major renovations and condominium conversion are grounds under the regulation, but they carry a full year of notice. That is a long time to hold a property, which is one reason we would usually rather buy with the tenancy in place and work around it.
Will you buy it with the tenants in it?
Often, yes — and when we do, no notice needs to be given at all. The tenancy is assigned to us at closing and the tenant is told in writing who their landlord now is. Nobody has to be moved for the deal to work.
The tenant has stopped paying and will not let anyone in. Then what?
Then a listing is close to impossible, because a listing needs access. We can usually work from the exterior, the title, the tax roll and whatever you can tell us, and price the uncertainty into the offer rather than pretend it is not there.
The place is in rough shape after the last tenants. Does that change anything?
Not to whether we will look at it. Holes, smoke, pet damage and an abandoned basement full of belongings are ordinary in this business. It changes the number, and we will show you how.

Damage or deferred maintenance as well? That page is here.