We buy with tenants in situ · No vacant possession needed
Sell a tenanted property
We are the company that buys houses with sitting tenants
You do not need to evict anyone, wait out a notice period or leave the property empty. We buy tenanted houses and flats with the tenancy running. Enter your postcode below for a firm offer in under one hour.
"*" indicates required fields
“Great service… helped me sell a rental in great time.”
MMichael Appleton-DerrickVerified Trustpilot review
Rated excellent
What Bettermove customers say about us
Thousands of verified reviews from customers across everything we do.
The short answer
Can I sell a property with tenants in it?
Yes. A tenancy is attached to the property, not to you, so it simply continues with the new owner as landlord. You do not need your tenants’ permission to sell, you do not need to end the tenancy first, and in most cases your tenants do not have to move at all.
The difficulty is not legal, it is commercial. Most ordinary buyers want to live in the house they are buying, and most lenders will not offer a residential mortgage on a property with a sitting tenant. That removes the majority of the open market at a stroke, which is why tenanted properties sit unsold for months while owner-occupier buyers scroll past them.
We are one of the companies that buys tenanted property directly. We are not borrowing and we are not moving in, so a sitting tenant is not an obstacle for us. We buy single tenanted houses and flats, blocks, and whole portfolios.
Your options
Two ways to sell with tenants in place
Both routes leave the tenancy intact and neither costs you a penny. Which one suits you depends on whether you want the certainty of a direct sale or the stronger price an investor buyer will pay for a performing asset.
We buy it ourselves
Complete in 7 to 28 days
We purchase directly with our own funds, tenancy running. No vacant possession, no lender criteria, no chain and no notice period to serve.
Best suited for: landlords who want out cleanly and quickly, particularly with difficult arrears or a problem property.
- Tenancy continues untouched
- No notice served on anyone
- Arrears and disrepair no obstacle
- Legal fees covered
- Full market value is not possible
Sell to our investor network
Usually 30 days or less
A tenanted property with a reliable tenant and a clean rent record is an attractive asset to an investor, who is buying the income rather than the house. This is often where a tenanted sale does best.
Best suited for: landlords with performing tenancies who want the strongest price.
- Investors pay for the income stream
- A good tenant is an asset, not a problem
- Buyer commits with a £1,000 deposit
- Legal fees covered
- Takes longer than a direct purchase
What changed in 2026
Section 21 has gone, and it changes the maths
Since 1 May 2026, landlords in England can no longer serve a Section 21 no-fault notice, and most private tenancies became assured tenancies. The old routine of serving notice, waiting for the property to empty and then selling with vacant possession is no longer available in the way it was.
Obtaining possession now means relying on a specific statutory ground, which takes time, may be contested, and is not guaranteed. Grounds do exist for landlords who intend to sell, but they carry their own notice periods and conditions, so take proper advice before relying on one. Shelter and GOV.UK both set out the current position.
The practical consequence is straightforward: selling with the tenant in place has gone from being the awkward option to being, for many landlords, the sensible one. It is faster, it avoids a contested possession claim, and it does not put a tenant through an eviction in order to achieve a sale.
Two ways to exit
Empty it first, or sell it as it stands
Seeking vacant possession
Selling with tenants in situ
The honest bit
What it costs to sell a tenanted property
Nothing in fees. No commission, no valuation charge, no admin fee, and we instruct and pay for the conveyancing including the tenancy paperwork and deposit transfer.
What it costs is price. On a direct purchase we pay up to 80% of market value. Against that, weigh what vacant possession would actually cost you now: the notice period, a possible contested claim, void weeks, and the risk that the ground does not succeed.
Through our investor network landlords typically achieve up to 93%, and a tenanted property with a solid payment record often performs particularly well there, because the buyer is purchasing an income rather than a home. Read the full explanation.
Regulated and accredited
Landlords we buy from
The situations we see most often
Most landlords selling to us are doing so for one of these reasons. None of them requires the property to be empty first.
Call us on 0330 004 0050 or email hello@bettermove.co.uk. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Leaving the sector
Regulation, tax changes and the end of Section 21 have persuaded a lot of landlords that the returns no longer justify the work. We buy single properties or the whole portfolio in one transaction.
Selling a portfolioTenants in arrears
Arrears do not stop us buying. You are not required to resolve them, pursue the debt or obtain possession before we complete.
How a cash sale worksA property needing work
Disrepair, an EPC problem or a licensing issue that would cost more to fix than you want to spend. We buy in any condition and take the work on.
Selling in poor conditionAn inherited rental
Executors frequently inherit a tenanted property and have no wish to become landlords. It can be sold with the tenancy intact as part of the estate.
Selling an inherited propertyA buy-to-let in arrears on the mortgage
Selling with the tenant in place resolves the mortgage without the tenant losing their home in the process.
If the mortgage is behindReal customer story
Landlord exits smoothly with tenants in place
“I did not want to evict good tenants or spend on refurbishments. Bettermove connected me with another landlord and handled the whole thing start to finish.”
James, Manchester
James needed to sell a rental property quickly but responsibly. We sourced a new investor from our network, enabling a clean sale, with the tenants undisturbed and the deal closed in just 4 weeks.
Bettermove also paid for all of James’s legal fees, ensuring zero unexpected costs along the way.
- Off-market investor buyer
- Tenants remained in situ
- No agent fees or marketing costs
- Seller’s legal fees paid by Bettermove
Got questions?
Selling a tenanted property FAQs
These are the questions landlords ask us most, and the rules changed in 2026, so some of the old answers no longer apply.
Can I legally sell a tenanted property?
Yes. There is nothing preventing the sale of a property with a tenancy in place. The tenancy runs with the property and the buyer becomes the landlord on completion, on the same terms.
Do I need my tenants’ permission to sell the property?
No. You do not need their permission and you do not need them to agree to anything. You do need to keep to the tenancy terms on access, and both you and the buyer must notify them properly of the change of landlord.
What happens to the existing tenancy agreement when I sell?
It continues unchanged. The rent, the term and the terms all stay as they are, and the deposit is transferred to the new landlord’s scheme as part of the conveyancing.
Can I sell my property with tenants in situ?
Yes, and since Section 21 was abolished in England on 1 May 2026 it is often the more practical route. There is no notice to serve and no possession claim to bring, so the sale is not dependent on the property becoming empty.
Do my tenants have to move out?
No. In the great majority of our purchases the tenants stay exactly where they are with a new landlord. That is usually better for them and it protects the condition of the property through the sale.
Can I sell quickly with tenants in place?
Yes. A direct purchase can complete in as little as seven days and typically within 28. Because we are not waiting for vacant possession, a tenanted sale to us is often faster than an empty one on the open market.
Will my tenants be involved in the sale process?
Minimally. We need reasonable access for the survey, arranged with proper notice, and they will be told about the change of landlord. They are not asked to leave, to sign a new agreement or to do anything else.
What if my tenants are in arrears or there is a dispute?
Tell us at the outset and it will be factored into the offer. You are not expected to resolve arrears, pursue a debt or obtain possession before we buy.
Do you buy portfolios as well as single properties?
Yes. We buy single tenanted houses and flats, blocks, and portfolios of any size in one transaction, which is considerably simpler than selling them individually.
How do I get started?
Enter your postcode above or call us. We will need the rent, the tenancy type and roughly how long the tenants have been there, and we will come back with a firm offer in under one hour.
More ways we help
Whatever your situation, there is a route
Landlords come to us for several different reasons. These pages cover the ones we deal with most often.
Find out what your tenanted property is worth
A free valuation, a firm offer in under one hour, tenants left exactly where they are, and absolutely no obligation to accept it.
Video library
More from Bettermove
Selling your home with Bettermove
How the cash offer process works
What our customers say