When a Property Changes Ownership Does There Need to Be a New Rental Agreement Between Landlord and Tenant?

Question by themofer: When a property changes ownership does there need to be a new rental agreement between landlord and tenant?
We live in a complex of duplex’s in Oregon which have just changed ownership. Since changing ownership there have been some changes. Our rent has increased, and we are now having to pay for our own water and sewer. We don’t have a problem with this as long as it is done correctly. However, we got our first water bill from the landlord which stated we owe $ 51.20 for 3 weeks of water and sewer usage. We have a household of 3 people, 2 adults and 1 2 year old. We do everything in our power to conserve water to the point of only showering once or twice a week, doing laundry once a week, and waiting to do the dishes till the sink is full.

We just got a notice from the landlord stating that the water bill we received was for ONE week of water and sewer usage when the previous statement stated THREE weeks of usage.

A lot of their notices have been incorrect, it appears that it is due to typos, but when it comes to written statements from landlords, it is never good to have inconsistencies.

Our property manager has stated bluntly that he does not care what the law says and that he does whatever he wants. In previous conversations he has mentioned that he is in the middle of 2 court cases defending his actions (one of which was an assault on a tenant). He has also mentioned to my girlfriend one of the reasons he doesn’t have money to make repairs is because he has “a sweet spot for cocaine”. Not only that, but he tried telling her that she needed to give me more blow jobs. This is not the proper way to act as a property owner!!

We have been screwed by property managers in the passed, and I want to make sure that are prepared to act correctly when the time comes to defend our rights as tenants. One of those things that I have been worried about is when we do decide to leave (we are moving in a month or two) that we don’t get reamed on our deposit just so they can make renovations. So, when property ownership changes, does a new rental agreement need to be signed, or is the current agreement carried over to the new property owner. Also, any links or information on how I can protect myself would be appreciated. We have learned from our past experiences to save all documents between us and our property managers.

Thank you very much for your responses.

Best answer:

Answer by Theandysullivan
Just by reading your short question the short answer is no.

The lease you signed goes with the house not the owner. At least thats the way it is in South Carolina.

What do you think? Answer below!