Landlord Trying To Sell The Townhome with 10 Month Left In Lease

[Carter Mayberry]

This is for a friend of mine and I don't know Colorado Law.

My buddy has rented a townhouse from a guy for the past 3 years, re-signing a 12 Month Lease in July '24. Last week the landlord mentioned he wanted to sell the townhouse but had another home available that my buddy could move into. They met in person and looked at the house. Though slightly inconvenient, my buddy  agreed to move into this home and increase his rent from $2,000 to $2,900 so the landlord was able to sell the townhouse. They've had a good relationship for the past 3 years so as a win win, they would move so he could sell the townhouse but he would lower rent a bit to $2,900 so it wasn't such a jump in rent. A new lease was never signed for the swap.

4 days later, the landlord is now retracting the offer for the swap to the new home and would like my buddy to just move out of the townhouse. Is he able to kick him out if rent is paid on time every month and no parts of the lease have been broken?

Keep in mind my buddy is 28, a manager at a large tech company and very responsible/clean. He lives a standard young professional life, so no damage or issues have come up in the past 3 years that could break any lease terms. 

Any thoughts? Does he need to get a lawyer and if so, any suggestions?

Thank you!

[Jonathan Greene]

He does not need to move out until the end of the original lease, so July '25. He can not be put out or evicted prior to that time except for cause.

[Michael Diossa]

if your buddy has a lease that runs through July 2025 and has been paying rent on time with no lease violations, the landlord generally cannot just terminate the lease early without cause. Here’s a simplified breakdown:

1. Lease Agreement: Since your buddy signed a 12-month lease in July '24, he is legally protected until the end of the lease term unless the lease has specific clauses allowing early termination under certain conditions.
2. No New Lease Signed: Since no new lease was signed for the new home and no formal agreement was made, the original lease terms for the townhouse still apply.
3. Landlord’s Request: If the landlord wants to break the lease or has changed their mind about the swap, they would typically need a valid reason, like a breach of lease terms, or might need to negotiate an agreement with your buddy (buy out)
4. Legal Advice: Your buddy might consider consulting a local attorney or legal aid service for advice on his specific situation. They might know the laws better since I do not live in that area.

[Kevin Sobilo]

@Carter Mayberry, generally speaking no they can't kick the tenant out as long as they keep paying and living up to their responsibilities under the lease.

However, some leases have clauses allowing the lease to be terminated when a sale is to occur. So, if there is a clause like this then it may be possible for them to terminate the lease early.

If there isn't a clause like that, I would consider asking the landlord for CASH! It is worth money for the landlord to get that property sold now and your friend was already willing to move. So, as an incentive they could agree to a cash payment from the landlord to the tenant to agree to terminate the lease early. 

[Lynn McGeein]

Is your friend interested at all in buying the townhouse he's lived in for the last 3 years?  That might be a win-win, especially if the seller will offer a good price due to not having to wait for tenant's lease to end, find a buyer, and likely pay listing commissions.  Or possibly negotiate "cash for keys," figure out a dollar amount that would make it acceptable for your friend to end his lease early.  If so, make sure agreement is in writing, signed by both parties, specifies new end date and ensures any existing security deposit will still be dealt with properly per landlord/tenant laws, and I'd also ask for a partial payment to be issued at signing to make obtaining his new place easier.  Since lease was just renewed and he has almost a year left, I would think the amount should be 2-3 months' rent plus estimated moving expenses. Otherwise, he should just tell the landlord he plans to finish out his lease, and then landlord would have to sell with the existing lease in place, limiting his buyer pool to investors, or wait until lease ends next July. I think Colorado recently passed stricter laws protecting tenants, so he can research that to see if it helps him.         

[Tanner Pile]

@Carter Mayberry

Your friend has the right to stay since he has a signed lease for the next 10 months. They would need to sign a document for the termination of the town home lease and starting up of the new lease for the other property. 

Since this did not happen he does not need to move. 

Also, an increase of rent to $2900 and being required to move does not sound like the landlord is helping out your friend. 

[Corby Goade]

Quote from @Carter Mayberry:

This is for a friend of mine and I don't know Colorado Law.

My buddy has rented a townhouse from a guy for the past 3 years, re-signing a 12 Month Lease in July '24. Last week the landlord mentioned he wanted to sell the townhouse but had another home available that my buddy could move into. They met in person and looked at the house. Though slightly inconvenient, my buddy  agreed to move into this home and increase his rent from $2,000 to $2,900 so the landlord was able to sell the townhouse. They've had a good relationship for the past 3 years so as a win win, they would move so he could sell the townhouse but he would lower rent a bit to $2,900 so it wasn't such a jump in rent. A new lease was never signed for the swap.

4 days later, the landlord is now retracting the offer for the swap to the new home and would like my buddy to just move out of the townhouse. Is he able to kick him out if rent is paid on time every month and no parts of the lease have been broken?

Keep in mind my buddy is 28, a manager at a large tech company and very responsible/clean. He lives a standard young professional life, so no damage or issues have come up in the past 3 years that could break any lease terms. 

Any thoughts? Does he need to get a lawyer and if so, any suggestions?

Thank you!

 What does his lease say?

I'm not aware of any state where the lease ends when a property is sold, but your buddy may have agreed to some weird terms in his lease that we can't speak to here.