Advice8 min read6 views
Updated 27 October 2026 · Written by the Wahanaya.lk team
You can sell it, but the leasing company is the legal owner until the facility is settled. Clear the lease (or get the finance company's written release) before any transfer at the DMT, or the buyer's money won't get them a clean CR.
If your car still has an active lease, you can sell it — but not the simple way. Your leasing or finance company is recorded on the CR (Certificate of Registration) book as the "absolute owner," and the Department of Motor Traffic (DMT) will not transfer the vehicle to a new owner until that entry is cleared. Settle the facility, get the release letter, then transfer. Do it in any other order and you risk taking a buyer's money without being able to give them a clean title.
Yes, but the sale is only complete in law once the lease is settled, because until then the car is not fully yours to sell. The finance company's name on the CR as "absolute owner" is not a formality — it means legal title sits with them, even though you're the registered user making the payments and driving the car day to day. A private handover of keys and cash, with the lease still running, does not change who owns the vehicle on paper.
The finance company does, in the legal sense. You're the registered owner and the person using the vehicle, but full ownership — what the CR book calls "absolute ownership" — stays with the lessor until every rental under the facility is paid. This is why a buyer who only sees the CR book and the car in your driveway could still end up buying a vehicle that is mortgaged to a bank or finance house they've never dealt with.
Call or visit your finance company's branch and ask for an early-settlement quotation. This figure covers the outstanding capital plus whatever fee or adjustment applies to closing the facility ahead of schedule. Once you (or the buyer, if they're paying it directly) settle that amount, the finance company issues a letter addressed to the Commissioner of Motor Traffic stating the obligations are met and the absolute ownership entry should be cancelled. Only after that letter is processed can the CR book show you as the vehicle's sole, unencumbered owner — the point at which a normal sale and transfer can go ahead.
Before you settle, it's worth checking what similar vehicles are selling for on /price-check so you know the sale will actually cover the payoff, and browsing /vehicles for a sense of current asking prices in your model and district.
It's the document that proves the finance company no longer has any claim on the car. Without it, the absolute ownership stays on the CR book and the DMT has nothing to tell it the car is now free to transfer. Serious buyers know this, so expect them to ask to see it — or to see proof the lease has been settled — before they commit to a deposit. Don't be offended; it's the same check you'd want if you were buying a leased car yourself.
Often, yes. Finance companies vary in how they handle early closure: some charge a fee calculated on the outstanding capital, others reduce the future interest instead. As of October 2026, People's Leasing & Finance PLC's published Key Facts Document sets this at 5% of the outstanding capital for early settlement. Other companies set their own terms in their own Key Facts Documents, so ask your branch for the exact figure before you agree a sale price with a buyer — you don't want to find out the payoff is higher than you budgeted after the deal is already verbally agreed. You can use /leasing to re-check what your remaining monthly payments and balance roughly look like before you call the branch.
Not on your own say-so. The Finance Leasing Act does not let a lessee transfer the facility to someone else without the finance company's written permission, and in practice most finance companies would rather run a fresh credit check and open a new facility in the buyer's name than simply swap the name on yours. If a buyer wants to keep financing the car rather than pay cash, the cleaner route is usually: you settle and close your lease, the buyer arranges their own new lease or loan with a finance company of their choice, and the CR transfers to them once both sides of that are done. Treat "just take over my payments" offers from buyers with caution — ask your finance company first, in writing, before relying on one.
The sale isn't legally finished. The CR book still shows the finance company as absolute owner, so the buyer cannot register the car in their name even if they've paid you and taken the car home. You also stay on the hook: if a payment is missed after the car has left your possession, it's still your facility and your credit record that's affected, and the finance company can still act against the vehicle even though someone else is now driving it.
If anything about your specific lease or finance company's process isn't clear, ask in the /forum — chances are someone has sold a leased car with the same finance company recently and can tell you what to expect.
Price the car firmly, screen buyers on the phone before you agree to a viewing, and take a refundable deposit once someone says yes. Anyone who won't commit to any of these three steps is a time-waster, not a buyer.
Wahanaya.lk team6 min read
You transfer ownership by filling MTA 6 and MTA 8 forms, handing over the CR book and NIC copies, and the buyer lodging these at the DMT within 14 days of the sale, paying the class fee, service charge and 1% stamp duty.
Wahanaya.lk team9 min read
Compare 8-10 similar ads for the same make, model, year and mileage, then adjust for condition, service history and documents. Price slightly above your target so you have room to negotiate, and confirm the transfer fees and stamp duty before you settle on a final figure.
Wahanaya.lk team6 min read
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