Selling A Rental Property With Tenants In Florida
You can sell a Florida rental with tenants in place - the lease survives the sale. Here's what you must disclose, the 2026 eviction law change, and your options.
You want out. The tenants are still there, maybe not paying, maybe wrecking the place, and you’re trying to figure out whether you can sell at all.
You can. Here’s how it works and what your actual options are.
The core rule: the lease survives the sale
In Florida, a valid lease is generally binding on the new owner. Selling the property doesn’t cancel it.
- Fixed-term lease - the buyer takes the property subject to it. Tenants stay until it expires on the existing terms. You cannot evict them just because you’re selling.
- Month-to-month - the buyer can terminate with proper written notice after closing. Under Fla. Stat. §83.57, month-to-month tenancies require 30 days’ written notice before the end of a monthly period.
- Tenant at sufferance (lease expired, still there) - the buyer can begin eviction.
The security deposit transfers to the buyer at closing, and you must comply with Florida’s deposit transfer requirements under §83.49.
What this means for your buyer pool
This is the part most sellers don’t anticipate.
Retail buyers mostly won’t touch it. Someone buying a home to live in can’t move in until the lease ends. Most walk.
Financed buyers hit obstacles. Lenders want to inspect and appraise, which requires interior access - and Florida tenants have a right to reasonable notice. Uncooperative tenants can stall a financed deal indefinitely.
Investors will buy it. An occupied property with a paying tenant is an asset to an investor - instant cash flow, no vacancy, no turnover cost. A property with a non-paying tenant is a different conversation, but plenty of investors still buy those at a discount.
So realistically your buyer is an investor. That’s not a problem - it just means pricing it as a rental, not as a home.
Access: the practical headache
Under Fla. Stat. §83.53, a landlord must give reasonable notice - at least 12 hours for repairs
- and enter at reasonable times. For showings, the lease terms and reasonable notice govern.
Uncooperative tenants can make showings nearly impossible. Practical approaches that work:
- Offer a showing incentive. $200–$500, or a month’s rent reduction, for cooperating. Cheaper than a dead deal.
- Bundle showings. One two-hour window with multiple buyers instead of eight separate intrusions.
- Cash-for-keys. Pay them to leave voluntarily before listing - typically $1,000–$5,000 in Central Florida. Far cheaper and faster than eviction, and you get a vacant property, which widens your buyer pool dramatically. Get the agreement in writing.
- Sell to a buyer who doesn’t need access. Some cash buyers will purchase based on exterior inspection and existing documentation.
What you must disclose
To your buyer, provide all leases, rent roll, payment history, security deposit amounts and location, any pending eviction, and any known tenant disputes. Under Johnson v. Davis, you must disclose known material facts affecting value that aren’t readily observable. A tenant four months behind is material.
To your tenants, notify them of the sale and the transfer of their security deposit. Florida law requires the transferring landlord to either return the deposit or transfer it to the new owner and notify the tenant.
Don’t hide a problem tenant. It comes out in the estoppel or during due diligence, and it kills deals late and expensively.
If you need them out first: the Florida eviction process
A 2026 change matters here. Florida’s nonpayment notice period is changing:
- Before July 1, 2026: 3 business days to pay or vacate
- On or after July 1, 2026: 5 business days, under Senate Bill 716
Business days exclude weekends and legal holidays either way.
The process under Fla. Stat. Chapter 83:
- Serve written notice. Nonpayment: 3-day (now 5-day) notice to pay or vacate. Lease violation: 7-day notice to cure, or 7-day unconditional quit for serious violations.
- File an eviction complaint in county court if they don’t comply.
- Tenant has 5 days to respond. In a nonpayment case, they generally must deposit the disputed rent into the court registry to contest - a significant hurdle that resolves many cases.
- Hearing, if contested.
- Writ of possession issued; the sheriff posts it and the tenant typically has 24 hours.
Realistic timeline: 4 to 6 weeks uncontested. Two to three months if contested. Plus your attorney fees, filing fees, and the unpaid rent you’re never getting back.
Self-help eviction is illegal in Florida and expensive. Do not change the locks, shut off utilities, or remove belongings. Under §83.67 a tenant can recover actual and consequential damages or three months’ rent, whichever is greater, plus attorney fees. This is the single most costly mistake frustrated landlords make.
If it’s not a tenant at all: squatters
If someone is occupying without ever having had a lease, Florida’s HB 621 (2024) created a much faster path. You file a verified complaint with the sheriff, and once they confirm your right to possession they can remove the occupant - often within 24 to 48 hours - outside the normal court eviction process.
This applies to unauthorized occupants who were never legal tenants. A former tenant who stopped paying still goes through Chapter 83 eviction. Call the sheriff’s office to confirm which situation you’re in before filing anything.
Section 8 and housing-assistance tenants
A Housing Assistance Payments contract with the local housing authority - in Central Florida, the Orlando Housing Authority, Osceola County Housing Authority, and others - generally transfers with the property.
The new owner must be approved by the housing authority to keep receiving payments. Notify the housing authority early; approval takes weeks and a surprise here delays closing.
Many investors actively want these - the rent is reliable and largely government-paid.
Your options, honestly
Wait out the lease, then sell vacant. Best price, widest buyer pool. Only works if the lease ends soon and the tenant is paying.
Sell it occupied to an investor. Faster, no eviction, no turnover cost. Price reflects rental value and the tenant situation. If the tenant pays reliably, the discount is small - a stabilized rental is genuinely desirable.
Cash-for-keys, then sell vacant. Often the best return on a few thousand dollars. Vacant sells for meaningfully more and to a much larger pool.
Evict, then sell. Slowest and most expensive. Do it only if the tenant is destroying the property or refuses everything else.
Sell as-is with the problem attached. Some cash buyers will take the property and the eviction. You get less, but you’re out this month instead of in four months, and you stop absorbing the loss.
When that last one is right - and when it isn’t
Right when: the tenant hasn’t paid in months and is destroying the place, you’re out of state and can’t manage it, an eviction would cost more than the discount, or you’re simply done being a landlord.
Not right when: you have a paying tenant on a lease that ends in three months. Wait it out and sell vacant. You’ll do considerably better and the wait is short.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sell my rental property with tenants still in it in Florida? Yes. The lease transfers to the new owner. Fixed-term tenants stay until it expires.
Does selling a house void the lease in Florida? No. A valid lease binds the new owner.
Can I evict a tenant because I’m selling? Not during a fixed-term lease. For month-to-month, 30 days’ written notice per §83.57.
How long does eviction take in Florida? 4–6 weeks uncontested, 2–3 months contested.
Did Florida’s 3-day notice change? Yes. Effective July 1, 2026, the nonpayment notice period increases from 3 to 5 business days under SB 716.
What’s cash-for-keys and does it work? Paying a tenant to leave voluntarily - typically $1,000–$5,000. It works, and it’s usually cheaper and much faster than eviction.
Can I sell if my tenant won’t let anyone in? Yes - to a cash buyer who doesn’t require interior access, or after a cash-for-keys agreement.
What happens to the security deposit? It transfers to the new owner at closing, with notice to the tenant, under Fla. Stat. §83.49.
General information about Florida landlord-tenant law, not legal advice. Eviction procedure is technical and errors restart the process. The 5-business-day notice change takes effect July 1, 2026 under SB 716. Consult a Florida landlord-tenant attorney.
Beach Bums Real Estate buys rental properties for cash in Orlando and Central Florida - occupied, vacant, or mid-eviction. Call (689) 249-4888. If waiting out a lease and selling vacant nets you more, we’ll tell you.
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