What happens if your landlord sells the property

Terms used

• Registro de la Propiedad — The Registro de la Propiedad is the public property registry, where ownership and rights over a home, including some leases, are recorded.
• Tanteo — Tanteo is the tenant's right to buy the home before the sale, at the same price and on the same terms.
• Retracto — Retracto is the tenant's right to buy the home after it has been sold, at the same price and on the same terms.
• Burofax — A burofax is a registered notice delivered with proof of its content and receipt.

Key rules

• Minimum term: A buyer must respect your lease for the first 5 years, or 7 if the landlord is a company.
• Registry: After the minimum term, a registered lease survives the sale; an unregistered one can be ended by a protected buyer.
• Tanteo: You have 30 natural days from a verifiable notice to say you will buy.
• Retracto: If you were not notified, or the sale was cheaper, you have 30 days from notice of the sale to buy.
• Waiver: You can only waive your right to buy in a lease over 5 years.

Does the lease survive a sale?

During the minimum term, yes. A buyer must respect your lease for the first 5 years, or 7 if the landlord is a company. This applies whether or not your lease is registered. It covers leases of a home you live in, not seasonal or commercial lets.

After the minimum term, it depends on the registry. The lease continues if it was registered in the Registro de la Propiedad before the sale. It also continues if the buyer is not a protected good-faith buyer.

If the lease was not registered and the buyer is protected, the buyer can end it. You then have the right to stay up to 3 months after notice. You may also claim compensation from the seller.

Ask the landlord to register your lease, or register it yourself, so it is protected after the minimum term. Check the cost and steps with the registry office.

Your right to buy: tanteo and retracto

If you rent your home to live in, you have two rights to buy it at the same price and on the same terms:

• Tanteo: the right to buy before the sale.
• Retracto: the right to buy after the sale, in the cases below.

Co-owners, and relatives who have rights under the Civil Code, come before you. A buyer can only register the purchase once your rights have been dealt with.

When you have no right to buy

• The whole building is sold together, or all its homes are sold at once.
• Your lease says you waive these rights. This is allowed only for leases over 5 years.

Read your contract to see whether it contains a waiver.

How tanteo works

1. The landlord must tell you about the decision to sell, the price and the essential terms. The notice must be verifiable, for example by burofax, a registered letter with proof of delivery, or a notary.
2. You have 30 natural days from receiving it to say you will buy.
3. If you do not respond in that time, your right to buy before the sale lapses.

If the landlord gave you notice and the sale then goes ahead at the same price or a higher one, you are not offered tanteo again.

How retracto works

You can buy after the sale if the landlord never notified you. You can also do so if the sale happened at a lower price or on better terms than you were told.

You have 30 days. They run from when you receive notice of the sale, with a copy of the deed. You must repay the price, the expenses and the taxes.

If the property includes other items, such as a garage, they are priced together with the home.

Keep every notice you receive. Get advice from a lawyer or your town hall's housing or consumer office before you answer a notice, because the deadlines are short.

Choosing between options

Does your lease survive the sale of your home?

• The buyer must keep your lease: The sale happens within the minimum term of 5 years, or 7 if the landlord is a company. This applies whether or not the lease is registered in the property registry (Registro de la Propiedad).

• The lease continues after the minimum term: The sale happens after the minimum term, and your lease was registered in the property registry before the sale, or the buyer is not a protected good-faith buyer.

• The buyer can end the lease: The sale happens after the minimum term, your lease was not registered, and the buyer is a protected good-faith buyer. You can stay up to 3 months after notice and claim compensation from the seller.

Check first whether the sale falls inside the minimum term. If it does, the lease survives. If not, registration of the lease in the property registry before the sale decides it.

Timeline and deadlines

• The landlord notifies you of the decision to sell, the price and the essential terms, in a verifiable way: before the sale

• You decide whether to buy at the same price and on the same terms (tanteo): within 30 natural days of receiving the notice

• Your right to buy before the sale ends if you do not respond: when the 30 days pass without an answer

• If you were not notified, or the sale was at a lower price or on better terms, you can buy after the sale (retracto) by repaying the price, expenses and taxes: within 30 days of receiving notice of the sale with a copy of the deed

• If the minimum term has passed and your lease was not registered before the sale, a protected buyer can end it. You can stay and claim compensation from the seller: up to 3 months after the buyer's notice

Documents you need

• The landlord's written notice of the planned sale, sent in a way that can be verified (for example by burofax, a registered letter with proof of delivery, or through a notary). It must state the decision to sell, the price and the essential terms. Your 30 days to use your right to buy start when you receive it.

• A copy of the deed of sale, which you receive with the notice of the sale. You need it if the landlord did not notify you first, or sold at a lower price or on better terms, and you want to use your right of redemption.

• Your lease contract, to check whether it says you waive your right to buy. Such a waiver is allowed only in leases of more than 5 years.

Frequently asked questions

Can I buy the home if the whole building is being sold?

No. If the whole building is sold together, or all the homes in it are sold at once, you have no right to buy. Co-owners and certain relatives of the landlord also come before you.

Can my contract take away my right to buy?

Yes, but only in leases of more than 5 years. If your contract says you waive these rights, the waiver is allowed only in that case. Check the clauses before you sign.

What if the sale includes a garage or storage room?

They are priced together with the home. If you use your right to buy, you buy the whole package at the same price and on the same terms.

What if the landlord sold without telling me, or at a lower price than they told me?

You have 30 days to use your right of redemption (retracto).

Does the landlord have to tell me again if the price goes up?

No. If you were notified first and the sale is for the same price or higher, you do not get a second chance to buy.