What should I do if my landlord wants me to leave the apartment?

If your landlord wants to evict you he needs to go through the correct procedure by properly serving you with the notice required under your lease or under the law if there is no lease, which is a 30-day notice. If you don't pay your rent, in addition to evicting you, your landlord can get a money judgment against you for the back rent so yes, you should pay your rent until you find a new place.  However, since you have been living there for 30 years and assumedly have paid your rent all this time, perhaps you can negotiate an arrangment with the landlord to waive the back rent and allow you time to leave. If the landlord is trying to sell the property, if you refuse to leave you can create serious problems for the landlord, who may even be willing to not only waive your back rent but pay you a few thousand dollars (which you will need to put down as security in order to rent a new apartment) to avoid the delay you could create, potentially costing your landlord not only a potential buyer for the house, but the legal fees required to hire a lawyer to evict you.  However, the bottom line is that if the landlord wants to, he will ultimately evict you and get a money judgment against you for any money you owe. Negotiate carefully: start with pleas for sympathy and use threats of obstruction only as a last resort.  Good luck.