Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

In buying the property, you also buy the liabilities. You are barred from doing anything the prior owner could not do. You must follow the general eviction requirements.

When you buy property with tenants, you become their new landlord. The tenants' rights are unaffected by the change in ownership. If the tenant has a lease, you must wait for it to expire, and if the tenant is on a month-to-month rental agreement, you must give 30 or 60-day notice as required by law, unless, of course, the previous owner gives the notice before the closing.

This rule reflects the reality that when large apartment complexes or office buildings change hands, the new owner will want it to be as full -- and producing as much rental cash flow -- as possible (at least usually). It is based on the notion that the (previous) owner, in entering into a lease, surrenders his own right of possession for the duration of the lease, and therefore cannot sell it because he hasn't got it to sell.