Right of first refusal
Not told about a sale
If you’ve not been served notice
A new landlord must by law:
- notify tenants of their name and address within 2 months of taking over the property or on the next date the rent is due (whichever comes first)
- serve qualifying tenants notice of their rights of first refusal (RFR) – even if the old landlord served tenants with an offer notice
If you receive these notices from a new landlord and did not get an offer notice from your previous landlord, your previous landlord may have broken the law and could be subject to prosecution and an unlimited fine. You may also be entitled to buy the illegally-disposed-of interest on RFR terms.
Getting information about the sale
Once you receive a new landlord’s notice regarding RFR, the requisite majority of qualifying tenants (more than half) have 4 months to serve them notice requesting:
- the terms of the disposal
- the price paid
- the deposit paid
- when the sale took place
- a copy of the contract, where the disposal involved entering into a contract
The new landlord has 1 month to respond.
You might also be able to verify some of this information by searching for property ownership information on GOV.UK.
Acquiring the new landlord’s interest
If the conditions for RFR are met and the old landlord did not serve you with an offer notice, the qualifying tenants can:
- take over the contract if the sale to the new landlord has not yet been completed
- compel the new landlord to sell their interest in the property to the qualifying tenants at the same price they bought it for and under the same terms
If the old landlord had a headlease over all the flats and transferred these to the new landlord, the qualifying tenants can demand a tenancy under the same terms.
You should get specialist advice on drafting and serving these notices.
- Last updated:
- 17 December 2025
- Next review:
- 17 December 2027