Previous Landlord's Lease

[Jesse Allison]

I just closed on my second multi-family rental in Ohio. All three units are occupied, so I edited my lease to recreate the same terms as the leases they had signed with the previous landlord. My lease is more detailed and lengthier than the previous Landlord's, and for this reason one tenant wants to remain under the previous lease instead of signing mine. Do I have any obligation to allow him to do this? And how have you handled the purchases of occupied investment properties?  Thanks for your input!

[Fred Heller]

The laws differ from state-to-state, but the general rule of thumb is that the lease runs with the land.

That means if you purchase a property with tenants, you must honor the leases currently in place. You can't force any tenant to sign a new lease. You can't change the terms of the lease, which it sounds like you're trying to do. If a tenant agrees to a new lease under different terms, that is strictly at the good will of the tenant.

Your best bet, in my opinion, is to maintain the current leases already in place and make any changes when those leases expire.