Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

There is no legal obligation for the property owner to have been honest with you about his/her intentions. You are still legally obligated to pay rent pursuant to the month-to-month agreement that you have been operating under for the past four years. If the property is purchased, you may be expected to enter into a new rental agreement with the new property owner. You should contact the owner and get some clear understanding of his/her intentions concerning your continued relationships as both tenants and employees. I recommend getting some idea of what your moving expenses will be as you may want to consider negotiating a move-out agreement that provides for some partial payment of this amount although there is no legal requirement for the landlord to do this.

Sure the landlord should have been honest, but there is no legal requirement unless it induced you to do something and you suffered economic damages by believing him. You should definitely get some idea from the landlord whether he is looking to sell to an investor or not. An investor will probably just want a new rental agreement with you and for you to start paying rent to them once the sale is complete. If the buyer does not want you as a tenant, however, you can only expect 60-days notice to move. So you best plan ahead for that possibility.