Inherited tenant at will

[David R.]

Hi All,

I have been under the impression that, when a property with existing tenants is sold in the state of Massachusetts (and elsewhere in the country, but I am looking for information specifically regarding MA), any existing rental agreements between the seller and tenants are automatically assigned to the new owner. This goes for any existing leases, and tenant-at-will agreements. This would imply that any terms and conditions of the existing leases and TAW agreements are in place after the sale until a new rental agreement is signed (or the tenant moves out).

Is this correct? I’m second guessing this now because I realized that the MA landlord/tenant law book (DiBlasi) I’ve been using for reference states that this is true for leases, but I can’t find specifically where it says if this applies to TAW agreements.

I’ve also been looking for the answer on the mass.gov website, but have had no luck in locating the answer.

Can someone point me to an official reference to the applicable law?

Thanks, and enjoying being a new member!