Your situation
You're tired of being a landlord: the calls, the repairs, the turnover.
You didn't sign up to be on call, and selling a rental isn't as tangled as it feels at 11 at night.
A sale does not end a tenancy by itself, and many investors buy rentals with tenants in place. You may not need to empty the building first.
What's going on
Tenants and deposits go with the sale
A buyer usually takes the property with the tenants in place. When you sell, you must transfer each security deposit, with accrued interest, to the buyer, and the buyer must notify each tenant in writing within 45 days.
Do not try to move tenants out to improve a sale
A person who takes reprisals against a tenant for reporting a code violation is liable for damages of not less than one month's rent and not more than three months' rent, or the tenant's actual damages. Talk to an attorney before you change anything about a tenancy.
Taxes on a rental sale have more pieces
Gain that comes from depreciation you took is taxed at a maximum rate of 25%. A CPA should run your actual numbers before you set a price.
Free things to do first
- Read each lease for notice, showing and entry terms before you schedule anything.
- Compare keeping it with selling using real numbers, not the frustration of the month.
- If the building is pre-1978, you must give the buyer the lead paint transfer notification before the contract is signed.
- Ask an attorney how to handle tenants during showings and closing.
A free tool for this
Sell or rent calculator
Put your rent, costs and a sale price side by side to see which leaves you better off.
Also usefulNet proceeds, two- and three-family
What a sale of a small multi-family leaves after costs and the payoff.
Also usefulSelling a multi-family
Who buys, with tenants or without, and what they check.
Want the long version with every step and source? The long version: selling a rental property in Massachusetts.
Common questions
Do I have to evict first?
No. A sale does not end a tenancy, and investors often buy with tenants in place. An owner-occupant buyer may need a unit empty, which is a different conversation with an attorney.
What happens to the security deposits?
You transfer each one, with interest, to the buyer, who must tell each tenant in writing within 45 days.
Sources and notes
Updated November 8, 2026. General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. No pressure and nothing to sign.
- MGL c.186 s.15B: security deposit transfer on sale “the lessor shall transfer such security deposit together with any interest which has accrued thereon”
- MGL c.186 s.18: reprisals against tenants “shall be liable for damages which shall not be less than ... the actual damages sustained by the tenant”
- IRS Topic 409: depreciation gain taxed at up to 25% “unrecaptured section 1250 gain from selling section 1250 real property is taxed at a maximum 25% rate”
Other situations
You inherited a house, and you can't keep up with itYou're behind on the mortgage, and the letters have startedThe city sent a code violation notice, and you don't know where to startThe house needs too much work to list, and you can't face fixing itYou're divorcing and need to sell the house, fast and fair
Selling? Add drone photos
Show the whole property.
Aerial photos show the lot, the yard, the roofline and the neighborhood in a way street photos cannot. Many sellers add them to a listing, and they are a short, inexpensive shoot (typically $250 to $900).
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