Tired Landlord & Tenant-Occupied

Done being a landlord? We buy rentals with the tenants still in them.

The 10 p.m. maintenance calls, the rent that shows up late or not at all, the repairs that eat a year of cash flow — at some point the property stops being an investment and starts being a second job. You can be finished without displacing anybody. We’re a local family that buys tenant-occupied houses across Riverside and San Bernardino Counties as-is, with the tenancy intact: no eviction, no showings, no 60-day notices taped to a door.

Get My Cash Offer or call/text (951) 618-8881

You do not have to empty the house first.

The most common thing landlords tell us is that they assumed the property had to be vacant before it could be sold. It doesn’t. A tenancy runs with the property — a fixed-term lease binds the next owner for the rest of its term, and a month-to-month simply continues. When we buy, we step into your shoes as the landlord and you are done being one.

Selling is not a reason to end a tenancy — and it doesn’t have to be.

Under California’s Tenant Protection Act (Civil Code § 1946.2), once a tenant has continuously and lawfully occupied a home for 12 months, the tenancy can only be ended for a “just cause.” Wanting to sell is not on that list. The no-fault causes that do exist are narrow: the owner or a close family member moving in, withdrawing the property from the rental market, complying with a government order, or a substantial permitted remodel that requires the unit be empty for at least 30 consecutive days.

Each of those no-fault paths comes with a bill and a deadline: relocation assistance equal to one month of the tenant’s rent — either paid or waived in writing — provided within 15 calendar days of serving the notice. And since 2024, an owner move-in has to be real: the person named must occupy the unit within 90 days after the tenant leaves and live there as a primary residence for at least 12 consecutive months. Getting any of this wrong exposes an owner to damages and attorney’s fees.

Selling to us skips the entire mechanism. Nobody is served, nobody is displaced, no relocation payment is triggered, and no one has to prove intent to a court later. Your tenant keeps their home, and your name comes off the property on closing day.

The Tenant Protection Act, in plain English.

Two things travel together in the Act. The rent cap (Civil Code § 1947.12) limits increases to 5% plus the change in the cost of living for our region — the Riverside–San Bernardino–Ontario index — and never more than 10% in any 12 months. The just-cause rules above are the other half.

There are real exemptions. A single-family home or condo that can be sold separately is exempt if the owner is not a corporation, an LLC, or a real estate investment trust — but only if the tenant actually received the specific written notice the statute requires. Housing issued a certificate of occupancy within the previous 15 years is exempt too. Plenty of Inland Empire landlords qualify on paper and have no notice in the file, which quietly undoes the exemption.

Here’s the part most buyers won’t volunteer: that single-family exemption attaches to who owns the property, not to the house. When a company takes title, it stops applying. That’s a genuine cost to a buyer like us, and we’d rather put it in the offer up front than discover it mid-escrow and come back asking you for a price reduction. If our number is lower than a neighbor’s owner-occupied sale, this is often part of why — and we’ll show you that line.

Mid-lease, with months left on the term
Month-to-month, with no paperwork you can find
Tenant behind on rent, or not paying at all
Housing-voucher and Section 8 tenancies
A rental you inherited along with its tenant
Out-of-state owner, managed at arm’s length

What actually has to be handled at closing.

The security deposit is the item that trips up private sales. Civil Code § 1950.5 gives a departing owner two choices: transfer the remaining deposit to the new owner and notify the tenant in writing — the amount, any claims made against it, and the successor’s contact information — or return it to the tenant with an itemized accounting. Skip it and the new owner becomes jointly and severally liable for repaying the whole deposit, which is exactly why we handle it as a written line item through escrow instead of a handshake.

Within 15 days of taking title, the new owner also has to tell tenants in writing who owns and manages the property and where rent now goes (Civil Code § 1962). We send that letter ourselves, and we introduce ourselves as people rather than as an entity, because a tenant who knows who to call is a tenant who keeps paying.

Beyond that, we ask for whatever you have: leases, current rent amounts, deposit ledger, the date of the last increase, any side agreements, and a signed estoppel certificate from the tenant confirming the terms. Thin records don’t kill a deal — most tired-landlord files are thin. We work from what exists, prorate the rent at closing, and take the rest of the diligence onto our side of the table.

If the tenant is the reason you’re selling.

Sometimes the property is fine and the tenancy is the problem: months of unpaid rent, damage you only found out about by accident, or someone who stopped answering the phone. An unlawful detainer through the Riverside or San Bernardino County Superior Court takes time and money, and there’s no guarantee the judgment ever turns into a collected dollar. We will buy the situation as it stands — the arrears, the condition, the uncertainty — and it becomes our project instead of your next six months.

One thing to be careful about while you wait: never take matters into your own hands. Shutting off utilities, changing the locks, or removing doors to force someone out violates Civil Code § 789.3 and exposes an owner to actual damages plus up to $100 for every day it continues, a $250 minimum per cause of action, and the tenant’s attorney’s fees. Frustration is understandable; that particular shortcut costs more than the unpaid rent ever will.

Tell us the honest version of the tenancy. Our offer already assumes an occupied property with a real history — hearing the truth early doesn’t lower the number, it just keeps the closing on schedule.

Why listing a tenant-occupied rental on the open market is harder.

Showings are the first wall. Civil Code § 1954 requires written notice stating the date, approximate time, and purpose of entry, with 24 hours presumed reasonable, and entry generally during normal business hours. For buyer showings you can use oral notice only if you already gave the tenant written notice within the last 120 days that the property is for sale. In practice, every single showing depends on a tenant who has no reason to help you sell.

The buyer pool is the second wall. Most retail buyers intend to move in, and their loan and their own moving date won’t bend around a lease with eight months left. That leaves investors — the same crowd that writes a soft offer and then re-trades it after the inspection.

And selling vacant isn’t a quick fix either. Ending a month-to-month takes 60 days’ notice for a tenant of a year or more, 30 days if less (Civil Code § 1946.1). There’s a 30-day path when the buyer is a natural person who has opened escrow and in good faith intends to live in the home for at least a year — which by definition doesn’t apply to a sale to a company, and doesn’t shorten a fixed-term lease at all. Layer § 1946.2 on top and you’re back to a statutory cause plus a relocation payment.

Our version has none of those steps: one walkthrough arranged around your tenant’s schedule, a written offer within 24 hours, and a closing in as little as 7 days — or months out, if a later date suits you better.

Local Knowledge

We buy rentals across both counties — including the ones nobody wants to manage.

Rialto, Colton, Perris, Hemet, San Jacinto, Moreno Valley, Fontana, and up the 15 through Victorville, Hesperia, and Apple Valley: the Inland Empire is full of rentals bought years ago by owners who have since moved away. Most cities here have not layered a local rent-control or just-cause ordinance on top of state law, though several Inland Empire jurisdictions do regulate mobilehome-park rents — worth confirming with your city before you rely on the state rules alone. If your property is a duplex or something larger, tell us and we’ll be straight about whether it’s a fit.

Common Questions

Answers before you even ask.

Can I sell if my tenant is in the middle of a lease?

Yes. The lease stays with the property and we take it on for the remainder of its term — that is our preferred version of this deal, not an obstacle. You do not need the tenant’s permission to sell, and you do not need to give them notice to leave.

Do I have to evict the tenant before selling to you?

No, and we would rather you didn’t. Under California’s Tenant Protection Act, ending a tenancy of 12 months or longer requires a statutory just cause, and every no-fault cause carries relocation assistance equal to one month’s rent due within 15 calendar days of the notice. Selling to us avoids that entirely — the tenancy simply transfers.

What happens to the security deposit?

It is handled in writing through escrow. Civil Code § 1950.5 lets you either transfer the remaining deposit to us — with written notice to the tenant of the amount, any claims against it, and our contact details — or return it to the tenant with an itemized accounting. We normally take the transfer route and send the tenant that notice ourselves.

My tenant hasn’t paid rent in months. Will you still buy?

Yes. Tell us where things actually stand — the arrears, the condition, whether an unlawful detainer has been filed — and we price the property with that in place. The situation becomes ours at closing instead of yours. In the meantime, don’t shut off utilities or change locks; that violates Civil Code § 789.3 and gets expensive fast.

Will my tenant find out and stop paying rent?

Nothing about our process announces itself. There is no sign in the yard, no listing, no stream of strangers touring the house. We coordinate one walkthrough at a time that works for your tenant, and after closing we send the written ownership notice California requires within 15 days.

I live out of state now. Can I still do this?

Yes. Out-of-state landlords are a large share of the people who call us. Documents can be signed in front of a notary near you and returned to a local title company, and your proceeds are wired — you never need to fly back to close.

How fast can I be out from under it?

A written offer within 24 hours of hearing about the property, then closing in as little as 7 days through a local title company — or later, on your timeline, if you would rather collect a few more months of rent first. The number we agree on is the number you get; we do not re-trade after inspection.

Have a different question? Ask us directly — a real person answers.

Keep reading

Hand us the keys and the tenant ledger.

Tell us about the property and the tenancy — the real version. You’ll have a fair written offer within 24 hours, and you can stop being a landlord without putting anyone out of their home.

Get My Cash Offer (951) 618-8881

Free and no-obligation. See how it works — including all three ways we can buy.

This page is general information for Inland Empire homeowners, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Laws and figures change; always confirm how they apply to your situation with a qualified professional. California landlord-tenant provisions referenced here (Civil Code §§ 789.3, 1946.1, 1946.2, 1947.12, 1950.5, 1954, and 1962) reflect state law as of mid-2026 and are summarized, not quoted in full. Some cities and counties add local requirements — confirm your property’s specific obligations with a qualified attorney.