Non renewal of lease guidelines?
My tenant’s lease expires at the end of June. I called her yesterday to tell her I would be needing the apartment and therefore would not be renewing her lease. She became very angry and wanted to know why exactly, had she done something wrong, etc. I told her I’d be needing it for myself…
My tenant’s lease expires at the end of June. I called her yesterday to tell her I would be needing the apartment and therefore would not be renewing her lease. She became very angry and wanted to know why exactly, had she done something wrong, etc. I told her I’d be needing it for myself since I’m going to be getting married. She countered by saying that if I knew I was getting married then I should have told her even earlier, and then she dropped that she was pregnant, which I had no idea about. Even if I had known, I still need the apt. and need her out. So, my question is, did I give enough time (it’s about six weeks), and will she give me problems because she’s pregnant? Are there certain laws that say I can’t throw her out at the end of the lease because she’s pregnant? It sounds so ridiculous; there are so many apartments available and after all, it IS my house (no rent control or rent stabilized apts.). Any insight would be so appreciated –THANK YOU!
anon
OP Here: To the last three posters…thank you. I feel like I try to do the right thing with my tenants but get torn apart sometimes. It’s sometimes frustrating to be a landlord. I wish I did not need the income but sadly I do.
OP that was truly an awfully sad thing that happened to your family when your Dad died… I can’t even begin to imagine anyone being so heartless towards a grieving family.
OP you are the recipient of undeserved criticism here. You did the right thing. Do not feel bad about it. Tenants break leases all the time, in my experience. Every single time, in fact. You did not break the lease, you told them you weren’t renewing the lease. They sign a one year lease. If it does not have an option to renew, that’s all they are entitled to and that’s all they should expect. The people posting here are sadly mistaken.
I think that landlords are always mistaken for jerks in these kinds of situations no matter what you do. In the past I’ve really been the one to suffer when I give tenants more than a month or two worth of notice about the lease not being renewed. Basically then they get very anxious and start looking for a place right away. And they see places they like and realize that if they want them they will have to break my lease to get it. So that’s what they do. And when I’ve bent over backwards to give tenants “extra time” on a month to month situation usually they all swear they aren’t leaving until a couple of months down the road. And then they too find the perfect place and leave me in the lurch for the next month’s rent since I haven’t shown their place. Tenants are lame. Make sure you get 2 months security deposit because that nice tenant of yours will probably be only thinking of him or herself when it’s time to move on and stiff you for the last month’s rent.
OP here: Thank you all for your perspectives on the matter. I’m glad I am in fact within the law as it is more than the required 30 days’ notice. I have always been GIVEN exactly 30 days when the tenant has left, so I thought I was definitely being generous. I feel I need to respond to a few of the comments: TO 5:21 PM–Yes, I do understand how expensive it can be to find another apt. When I was nine years old, my dad died of cancer. On the day of his death we got a visit from the landlord stating that the rent would be doubled. We couldn’t afford it and essentially became “homeless” for about three months, living on different couches and floors of various family and friends (my mom, my baby brother and myself). So, yes, I do understand being “thrown out”. I am not doing that here, by any means. This is a woman and fiance who earn close to $150K a year and have a great network of friends. I’m sure they can land on their feet. I’ve only raised their rent a total of $75 in the three years of her occupancy, ie I’m not greedy or money hungry. TO 8:11 AM–That was totally uncalled for. I’ve been a great landlord, which is probably why she doesn’t want to leave. But life circumstances change. I became engaged about 3 weeks ago. Informing my tenant of this was not the first thing on my mind. I began to think I’d like to have the apartment as my own not too long ago. I’ll need time for renovations and customizations to the apt to be ready for a Fall wedding. In any case, I know I’m within my rights now and am grateful to your answers. I just hope the best for her and that she finds an apartment that she’ll enjoy. I don’t want to leave off on bad terms with her because we had a pleasant relationship. I guess I’m seeing the reality of the saying that you can’t please all of the people all of the time. If it was a different situation, I would definitely have given her more time. And I will hence forward to anyone else should I wish to not renew the lease, even though tenants typically don’t extend this same rule of thumb. Again, thank you.
One quibble with 9:18’s comments. I wouldn’t convert it to month to month. If you are willing to extend for a month or two, sign a specific lease extension with an end date. Much easier to enforce and you have a mutually agreed upon end date. Sets a clearer expectation on all sides.
Yes, while you may be within the law by giving only six weeks, the reasonable and kind thing to do would be to give three months. You should not be surprised that you got an emotional reaction, though she is a tenant, the apartment is still her home and she has every right to feel upset for being told she needs to vacate, and with such short notice. Keep in mind that she may not have planned financially to have the cash available for a new security deposit, broker’s fee, etc. Though six weeks is probably enough time to find a place, it would be the decent thing to do to tell her she can have another month or two should she require it.
Personally, I think tenants and landlords should
follow the same protocol. As a landlord, I have
yet to encounter a tenant who gave me more than
6 weeks notice. I don’t require my tenants to
renew their leases sooner than that because most
don’t want to make a commitment any farther ahead.
More often than not it’s not so much what is done but how it’s done. Before you became the lord of the land, how difficult was it for you to find an apartment in this city? Yes, it’s your house but you should have given her more notice, preferably written, lease or no lease to avoid the confrontation.