Tenant rights when landlord is attempting to sell property...

[Nate Julian]

Hey all,

Quick question. I live in Utah, and some of my friends live in SLC. They are currently renting in Sugarhouse. I'm not positive of the terms on the lease, but something smells fishy to me.

Their current landlord is trying to sell the property. The lease they are on extends well into the summer of 2016. The landlord is making the tenants leave the property, and clean before she shows the property. Whether they should to be respectful is not my question. From what I have been told (which could be complete crap), tenants cannot be required to leave thr property for a owner to show the property. I also assume they can't be required to do anything they don't want to in order for the owner to show the home.

I could be way wrong here, and maybe there are some rules. I'm looking to gain a better personal understanding for Utah on this matter, and also to let my friends know if the owner is in the right or not. 

p.s. Hopefully they are keeping the place clean anyways :) So far, they have been compliant, and even went as far as to take down decorations etc. for the owner.

[Skyler Smith]

Unless there's something specific in the lease - which I think is going to be unlikely - I don't think they can really be expected to clean or leave for showings, though allowing showings with good notice and at reasonable hours is generally expected. 

As an agent I show tons of rental properties and I always feel bad going through tenant occupied homes (just not bad enough to not show them.) The tenants are often good sports about it but I can tell that it wears on them. They didn't sign up to host 2-3 strangers a week. It's especially frustrating if the property is overpriced and the property just sits on the market for months. The tenants for sure take the biggest toll in those situations. Imagine how far it would go to "partner up" with the tenants and offer to take $50 bucks off their rent each month if they're willing to tidy up and disappear for showings. You'd have happier, more compliant tenants, and you'd probably sell the property much faster and for more money. That won't really help your friends, but I think it's food for thought for all of us as investors