Why selling with tenants is a win-win – and could save you £16,128

Almost one in three landlords are thinking of selling property over the next two years, according to official government figures. If you’re one of them, it makes sense to consider keeping your tenants in place when you do.

Landlord Property Exchange, official sales partner of the NRLA, specialises in selling tenanted properties. Here, James Donohue of LP Exchange explains why this approach has benefits for all parties involved: the seller, the buyer and the tenants themselves.

Here are three good reasons why you should sell with tenants:

An empty property is a wasted property – standing idle when it could be earning you money. As soon as the tenants leave, the clock is ticking: every day means missing rental income. According to Zoopla, the average house sale in the UK takes 185 days – more than six months. With monthly rents averaging £1,343 as of July 2025, that’s over £8,000 in lost rent if the property is vacant for all this time.
And that’s not the end of it: the Renters’ Rights Bill will mean that if you evict tenants to sell the property, you cannot then re-let it for a full 12 months. So if you can’t sell, or you change your mind, you could be missing out on £16,128 of income while still shelling out for mortgage payments, utilities, council tax, insurance and so on. Keep tenants in place and you’ll carry on receiving rent right up to the day of completion.

Securing vacant possession of your property takes time. The current rules require you to give tenants two months’ notice – and once Section 21 is abolished under the Renters’ Rights Bill, which is set to become law in 2026, that will double to four months. It can be awkward, too – with the risk of tenants being uncooperative or contesting the process. Transferring the tenancy to the new owner is a relatively easy process, and you’ll also avoid the end-of-tenancy jobs such as cleaning, redecorating and so on.

Good tenants can be hard to find, so having them already in place can be a key selling point in the rental sector. Buyers like to know what they are getting: they can see the actual rental figures so they won’t have to use guesswork to figure out the yield. Transferring the tenancy to the new owner is a relatively easy process, and there won’t be any wasted time or lost income due to the property sitting empty after completion.
Landlord Property Exchange’s unique sales platform matches your property with serious, vetted buyers looking for ready-made investments, meaning a potentially faster, smoother selling experience.

Finally, keeping tenants in place doesn’t just make financial sense for the landlords buying and selling, it also means more people can stay in their homes, which fits the NRLA’s goal of maintaining a fairer private rental sector. Everyone benefits.

So if you are thinking of selling – whether it’s a single property or an entire portfolio – contact  the property sales team at LP Exchange to explore your options, and whether selling with tenants is the right option for you.