Can I sell my LA apartment building with tenants in place?
Yes — the overwhelming majority of Los Angeles apartment buildings sell fully occupied, and investors expect it. Tenants do not need to approve the sale, leases and RSO protections transfer to the buyer automatically, and a clean rent roll with estoppel certificates is worth more to a buyer than vacancy. Occupied sales die over surprises, not tenancy: unpermitted units, undocumented cash rents, or estoppels that contradict the rent roll.
How showings actually work.
California requires proper written notice for entry (generally 24 hours), and good brokers batch interior access: typically one or two organized walk-throughs, often after an accepted offer, rather than parading buyers through weekly. Many of my sales are done with exterior-plus-select-units tours first — serious buyers underwrite from the rent roll and financials I publish, not from touring every kitchen.
Paperwork that protects your price.
Estoppel certificates — signed statements from each tenant confirming rent, deposit, and lease terms — are the seller's best defense against retrading. I collect them early, alongside leases, RSO registration, and utility bills, so the buyer's due-diligence period confirms what they already saw instead of discovering something new.
Do I have to tell my tenants I am selling?
There is no general obligation to announce a sale, but entry for showings requires proper notice, and buyers will require estoppels — so tenants will know. Handled respectfully, this is routine.
Can the new owner evict everyone?
Not in an RSO building — the ordinance travels with the property. Evictions still require just cause; certain no-fault removals (Ellis Act, owner move-in) carry relocation payments and strict rules.
SHAYA LOWENSTEIN · LYON STAHL INVESTMENT REAL ESTATE · DRE #01942326 · (323) 944-2221