Chattanooga, TN · Hamilton County
Yes. You can sell a Chattanooga house with tenants still living there. A sale does not by itself cancel the lease: the buyer takes the house subject to it and becomes the new landlord.
USA Home Buyers buys houses as-is in Chattanooga and Hamilton County, Tennessee. We buy houses as-is, in any condition — no repairs, no cleaning, no cleanout required to sell to us. You can call before you have every tenancy detail sorted out.
Call 888-274-5006 or use the form to tell us about the house and the tenancy.
Share the address and what you know about the lease, occupancy, access, condition, and timing. You can start with the details you have.
We'll give you a written cash offer within 24 hours.
Start with the Chattanooga address and what is happening with the tenants.
You don't always need to evict to sell to us. We buy houses with tenants in place — we've done it many times, including cash-for-keys when that works better for everyone.
If you and the tenant would rather agree on a move-out before closing, a written cash-for-keys arrangement may be worth discussing. The sale itself does not make the tenant move.
We buy the house as it stands, including its repairs and cleanout needs. You can discuss an occupied handoff or a possible move-out plan without treating the lease as if it disappeared.
Tell us what is happening with the lease, access, repairs, or the condition of the house. If there are limits on entry, missed repairs, tenant communications, or a move-out discussion, include what you know so we can talk through the property and your options.
Call 888-274-5006 and tell us what is happening.
We talk through the Chattanooga address, who lives there, the lease, rent, access, repairs, condition, deposit information, and the timing you are considering. You can start with what you know.
We give you a written cash offer within 24 hours. You can review the price and terms before deciding.
Written offer and written terms before you commit; title-company closing.
The title company checks the ownership and closing documents. Share the lease and deposit records so the occupancy handoff can be addressed with the closing professionals.
When you sell to us, we pay the closing costs, including Tennessee's realty transfer tax.
Your mortgage, liens, back taxes and share of current property taxes are separate.
For an inspection or code question, Hamilton County’s local-office list places Chattanooga in District 1 and identifies the City of Chattanooga Inspection Division. Confirm with the City which office has jurisdiction for the property address and the issue.
1250 Market Street, #1000, Chattanooga, TN 37402. Call (423) 643-5894, (423) 643-5891, or (423) 643-5884 about inspection matters. This is an inspection contact, not a decision-maker for lease terms or tenant rights.
Hamilton County Building Inspection Department local offices
A sale does not by itself end the lease or make the house vacant. Tennessee’s Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act applies in counties with more than 75,000 people in the 2010 census. Chattanooga is in Hamilton County; check the coverage rule for the county and the facts of the tenancy before relying on these Act-specific details.
The buyer takes the house subject to the lease and becomes the new landlord. Selling the property does not, by itself, cancel the lease or require the tenant to move.
Where the Act applies, a landlord must keep a tenant’s security deposit in an account used only for deposits and tell the tenant where the account is held. Unless agreed otherwise, a seller who sells in good faith is released from the lease for later events only after the tenant receives written notice of the sale and the deposit is transferred to the buyer.
Tennessee Public Chapter 156, including the sale-notice and deposit-transfer rule
Where the Act applies, ending a month-to-month tenancy takes written notice at least 30 days before the rent date named in the notice. A week-to-week tenancy takes at least 10 days’ written notice. A fixed-term lease and other legal protections may require a different approach; the sale itself is not a notice to end the tenancy.
The coverage rule is tied to the 2010 census. Tennessee General Assembly: Act coverage under Tenn. Code §66-28-102.
Yes. You can discuss a sale with the tenants still there. A sale does not by itself cancel the lease; the buyer takes the house subject to it and becomes the new landlord.
No. You can call before deciding what to do about possession. A sale itself does not end the lease, so the lease and any notice requirements still matter.
A sale does not by itself cancel the lease. The buyer takes the house subject to the lease and becomes the new landlord.
Under Tennessee’s Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, where it applies, the landlord keeps the deposit in an account used only for deposits and tells tenants where it is held. Unless agreed otherwise, a seller who sells in good faith is released from the lease for later events only after the tenant receives written notice of the sale and the deposit is transferred to the buyer.
Where the Tennessee Act applies, ending a month-to-month tenancy takes written notice at least 30 days before the rent date named in the notice. A week-to-week tenancy takes at least 10 days’ written notice. A fixed-term lease and other protections may require a different approach.
Hamilton County’s local-office list identifies the City of Chattanooga Inspection Division as the District 1 contact. Call (423) 643-5894, (423) 643-5891, or (423) 643-5884, and confirm which office has jurisdiction for the property address.
Use the Chattanooga calculator to compare possible net proceeds with your own sale price, costs, and payoffs.
Open the Chattanooga home-sale net-proceeds calculator →
Read more in the Chattanooga seller resources or review local code and repair questions.
Call 888-274-5006 and tell us about the Chattanooga house, lease, and access situation.