If you’re a property owner in New Orleans wondering whether you can sell your house while tenants are still living in it, the short answer is yes, you can. The longer answer is, it depends on your situation, your tenants, and your goals.
Hey, it’s Carl from NOLA Buys Houses. Over the last 20+ years, I’ve bought hundreds of properties in and around New Orleans, including many that were tenant-occupied. Some of these were rental homes with long-term tenants, while others had tenants who stopped paying rent or refused to move out.
If you’re trying to sell a house with tenants, don’t worry. It’s possible, and I’ll walk you through what to expect, what your options are, and how we can make it easy for you.
Understanding Your Situation
First things first, when you sell a house with tenants, you’re not just selling the property. You’re also dealing with the lease agreement and the people living in it.
Here’s what matters most:
· Is there an active lease?
If your tenants have a fixed-term lease (for example, 12 months), they have the legal right to stay until that lease ends, unless both parties agree otherwise.
· Is it a month-to-month lease?
In this case, you can typically give tenants a notice to vacate (usually 30 days in Louisiana) before selling.
· Are the tenants paying rent and taking care of the home?
If so, it’s often easier to sell with them in place, especially to an investor like me, who’s used to buying rental properties with good tenants.
If they’re not paying rent or damaging the home, it’s still possible to sell — but it changes the kind of buyer who’ll be interested. Typically at that point only a very seasoned investor will be willing to take on such a situation.
Option 1: Sell With the Tenants Still in Place
This is often the easiest and fastest route, especially if your tenants are reliable and paying on time.
In fact, many investors (like NOLA Buys Houses) prefer buying properties that already have tenants — it means cash flow from day one.
Here’s why selling with tenants in place can work:
· You don’t lose rent while waiting for the sale.
· You avoid eviction stress.
· The buyer may want to keep the tenants for ongoing income.
If you’re selling to a cash buyer, you won’t have to worry about cleaning, showings, or waiting for tenants to cooperate with realtors. We buy properties in as-is condition, with or without tenants, and we take care of the rest after closing.
Option 2: Wait Until the Lease Expires
If you have time and the lease is ending soon, you can wait until it’s over and sell the property vacant. This is often best if your goal is to sell to a traditional buyer through a realtor — because homeowners looking to move in usually don’t want tenants still living there. They typically have no landlord experience and therefore don’t want to take on a tenant owned property for fear of the unknown…and rightfully so
Just remember:
· You’ll still be responsible for maintenance and property taxes while waiting.
· The tenants may stop paying rent or leave the property in bad shape if they know they’re being asked to move.
That’s why many landlords call us to buy before it reaches that point. We’ll take it off your hands fast — no waiting for the lease to end.
Option 3: Offer the Tenants “Cash for Keys”
Sometimes, the smoothest path is to make a deal with the tenants.
You can offer a cash incentive to move out early and leave the property in good condition.
This might sound strange, but it often works better than going through an eviction, which can take months and cost more in the long run. This became very popular in during the great recession of the mid 2000’s with banks and delinquent mortgages. The courts were so backed up because of the massive wave of foreclosures. It was taking years to foreclose on a property so the banks started offering cash for keys programs to borrowers to speed up and simplify the process.
When I buy tenant-occupied properties, I’ve helped owners handle this plenty of times. We make sure it’s done respectfully and legally, so both sides walk away happy.
Option 4: Sell to a Local Cash Buyer
If you want to skip the complications altogether, selling to a local cash buyer like us is the fastest option.
We’ve bought plenty of properties in New Orleans with tenants — paying, not paying, or somewhere in between.
Here’s what that looks like:
1. You reach out — call or fill out a form on nolabuyshouses.com.
2. We review the situation — including lease terms, condition, and any issues.
3. We make a fair cash offer, usually within 24 hours.
4. You pick your closing date — even if tenants are still living there.
5. We handle the rest, including communication with tenants after closing.
No evictions. No repairs. No waiting on banks. Once you sell you are completely free from the situation.
Common Situations I See in New Orleans
Over the years, I’ve seen just about every tenant situation you can imagine:
· Inherited Property with Tenants – A family inherits a rental home and doesn’t want to deal with managing renters.
· Tenants Who Stopped Paying Rent – The owner is tired of filing evictions and needs relief fast.
· Good Tenants, But Ready to Sell – The owner just wants to cash out and move on.
· Landlord Burnout – After years of managing repairs and rent collection, they’re ready to simplify. It can be a lucrative business but comes with a massive amount of stress and headaches. And the last few years with short terms rental laws changing and insurance premiums skyrocketing, the profit margins have shrunk significantly for landlords and property owners.
Whatever the case, the process is always smoother when you sell to someone local who knows the laws and understands the challenges of being a landlord in Orleans and Jefferson Parish.
How Louisiana Law Treats Tenants in a Sale
Louisiana law protects tenants under active leases. That means:
· If a tenant has a valid written lease, it stays in effect even after the sale unless the new owner and tenant agree otherwise.
· If there’s no written lease and it’s month-to-month, you can typically terminate it with a 10- or 30-day notice (depending on the rent cycle and what the lease spells out).
· You can’t force a tenant out immediately just because you want to sell.
So it’s important to know what kind of lease you’re dealing with before listing or negotiating a sale.
The good news is — cash buyers like us are used to working around these timelines and can still make a deal that works for everyone.
Final Thoughts
So, can you sell a house with tenants in New Orleans?
Absolutely. You just need to know your options, and choose what works best for your situation.
Whether you’ve got great tenants, bad tenants, or a property you simply don’t want to manage anymore, you don’t have to wait months or deal with complicated evictions.
At NOLA Buys Houses, we make it easy:
· We buy houses as-is, even with tenants.
· We handle the paperwork and closing.
· We pay cash fast, often in as little as 7 days.
If you’re ready to sell your tenant-occupied house in New Orleans or surrounding areas, call me at 504-264-1407 or visit nolabuyshouses.com.