The Sims 4: How to Use Free Real Estate Cheat

The Sims 4 free real estate cheat is activated by opening the cheat console, typing testingcheats true, then entering freerealestate on. Done — every vacant lot in the game becomes free to move into, regardless of price. Console opens with Ctrl+Shift+C on PC, Command+Shift+C on Mac, or all four shoulder buttons held simultaneously on Xbox and PlayStation.

That’s the short version. Below you’ll find exact button combos per platform, why the cheat sometimes appears to fail, and what to do when the lot you want is already occupied by an NPC household.

Opening the Cheat Console on Every Platform

The cheat console is a small text input box that appears in the upper-left corner of the screen. Nothing works without it open first. Here’s how to trigger it depending on where you’re playing:

On console, all four triggers need to be held at the same time — not tapped, held. If the box doesn’t appear, try again from the Manage Worlds screen rather than inside an active lot. That’s where the free real estate cheat actually needs to run anyway (more on that below).

Enabling testingcheats Before Anything Else

With the console open, type exactly:

testingcheats true

Hit Enter. The game should respond with a notification: “Cheats are enabled.” You can also use testingcheats on — both work identically as of January 2025.

This step isn’t optional. Skipping testingcheats and jumping straight to freerealestate on will either do nothing or produce an error. The game requires cheats to be explicitly unlocked each session — they don’t carry over from a previous save.

One thing worth knowing: enabling cheats disables achievements for that play session. If earning trophies or in-game achievements matters to you, run the cheat in a separate save file.

The freerealestate on Command and How to Use It

This is the core of it. After testingcheats is active, close the console (press Escape or Ctrl+Shift+C again), then go to Manage Worlds. From there, open the cheat console again and type:

freerealestate on

Press Enter. You’ll see green borders appear around eligible lots on the map — that’s your confirmation the cheat is live. Now click any vacant residential lot and select “Move In.” The cost will show as §0, regardless of the property’s actual listed price. A mansion in Del Sol Valley that normally runs §350,000+ moves in for free.

The cheat must be entered from the Manage Worlds or neighborhood view, not from inside a lot. This is the most common reason people think it isn’t working — they enter the code while already playing inside their home, nothing happens, and they assume the cheat is broken. It’s not. Just back out to the world map first.

What Actually Changes When the Cheat Is Active

Beyond the obvious — free houses — a few other things shift when freerealestate is on.

Your household’s Simoleon balance stays completely untouched. If you had §20,000 before moving in, you still have §20,000 after. The game doesn’t subtract zero; it skips the transaction entirely. This means you can move into a fully furnished lot and keep all your starting funds for renovations, careers, or relationships.

Furnished vs. unfurnished matters here. Lots in The Sims 4 can be purchased furnished (keeping all existing objects) or unfurnished (stripped to the shell). The free real estate cheat applies to both options — you choose at the point of moving in, same as normal. If you want to redesign from scratch, go unfurnished and pocket the savings on furniture too.

The green lot borders persist until you turn the cheat off. You can hop between neighborhoods, browse properties, and move multiple Sims households around before disabling it.

Occupied Lots: The One Situation That Actually Blocks the Cheat

Here’s where things get more complicated. The free real estate cheat only works on vacant lots. If an NPC family already lives in the home you want, the cheat alone won’t let you move in — the game won’t displace an occupied household automatically.

The workaround requires an extra step:

1. Open Manage Worlds and locate the household occupying the lot you want.
2. Click on their home and select “Manage Household.”
3. Either evict them (the household goes to the Sim Bin without a home) or move them to a different lot.
4. Once the lot shows as vacant, the free real estate cheat will apply normally.

If you don’t want to permanently remove NPC households from the world — some players prefer to keep neighborhoods feeling lived-in — evict them to the Sim Bin rather than deleting them. They’ll stay in the bin, not placed anywhere, but won’t be gone from the game entirely.

There’s also a less obvious case: locked or pre-built lots in certain packs. Some expansion pack locations have lots that are flagged as non-residential or tied to pack-specific gameplay. The free real estate cheat has no effect on these. Commercial lots, community lots, and venue lots are outside its scope regardless of what you type.

Fair warning — if you’re playing in a world from an expansion like City Living or Eco Lifestyle, double-check the lot type in the tooltip before trying to move in. Residential lots will always show a price tag; anything without one isn’t a valid target for this cheat.

Turning freerealestate Off

Once you’ve moved your Sim into the house you want, open the cheat console and type:

freerealestate off

The green borders disappear, and property prices return to normal. You don’t have to disable it — the cheat doesn’t corrupt saves or cause issues if left on — but turning it off keeps the game behaving predictably, especially if you’re playing a legacy or challenge save where the economy matters.

You should also type testingcheats false afterward if you want to fully revert to standard gameplay and re-enable achievement tracking for that session.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the free real estate cheat work on console in 2025?

Yes. As of January 2025, it works on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. The activation method differs (shoulder buttons instead of keyboard), but the cheat codes themselves — testingcheats true and freerealestate on — are identical across all platforms.

Can I use this cheat in an existing save or only a new game?

Both. The cheat works in any save file at any point in the game. It’s not restricted to the start of a new household. If your Sim has been grinding for 30 in-game days and you want to finally afford that Newcrest mansion without waiting longer, you can enable it mid-save with no issues.

Does the cheat disable trophies or achievements permanently?

No — only for that session while cheats are active. If you close the game and reopen your save without enabling cheats, achievements function normally. The disable is session-based, not save-file-based.

Why do some lots still show a price even with freerealestate on?

The lot might be occupied, or it may be a non-residential lot type. Only vacant residential lots respond to the cheat. Check the lot type in the tooltip — it should say “Residential” — and confirm no household is currently assigned to it.

Is there a way to get free real estate without enabling testingcheats?

No. testingcheats true (or testingcheats on) is a required prerequisite. The freerealestate command is gated behind it and will not execute without cheats being active first.