Unpaid Rent - Assignment of Back Owed Rent at Closing in CA

[Peter D'Auteuil]

I'm pondering a question regarding unpaid rent. In a particular deal, at least one tenant in a property is behind in rent and will be behind when the buyer takes ownership of the property. Who has claim to unpaid rent after the transfer? Once the sale closes, does the new owner have rights to that unpaid rent now or could the previous owner still have a claim to that back owed rent? 

As far as I know, the buyer would need the seller to assign back owed rent to them and release any interest in the original leases. 

Do any other agents or investors have experience with this particular issue? If the assignment is needed, does anyone know of a specific form to use? 

Any insight is appreciated. Cheers