Renter hasn't responded to lease renewal - What to do ?
Tenants lease is up end August. I first spoke with her via tel late May if she was going to renew and she said she would have to see…Then a few weeks ago we sent her a new lease and asked that she respond by 7 July. The date has past and she is out…
Tenants lease is up end August. I first spoke with her via tel late May if she was going to renew and she said she would have to see…Then a few weeks ago we sent her a new lease and asked that she respond by 7 July. The date has past and she is out of the country for work (but checking her email). On 8 July we received an email from her, but no mention of intention to renew. Then we gave her until last Friday to respond via email, and still no response. She doesnt return to NY until 16 July. Therefore, folks who have more experience in this…what should we do ? So far we have had a good relationship with her but this has the potential to end badly. Note we will be out of town pt of August and have to get this resolved in the next few weeks.
Yeah, I am not into MTM and avoid it at all costs, so in my lease I stipulate that I don’t go MTM if the tenant decides not to renew.
I avoid this situation by pointing out this clause at the lease-signing. I get renewal of lease going 3 months in advance, and remind that it’s either this or I start showing the place in 2 months.
But it sounds like OP has no such rules at the outset, which is OK, but effective landlording seems to be about never trusting people to do it your way, but never being an asshole about it.
OP, as a landlord, I’m not a big fan of MTM, but here I agree with VBP above because the alternative is you are blindsided by a last minute move out without a real chance to start showing the place. You can always do a new lease and convert back from MTM to a written lease, but this way you may have more explicit grounds to collect rent/withhold security if they don’t respond to cover the month you may lose while looking for new tenants.
Also, check your lease. Did you include a rider as to when they have to notify you as to whether they are staying or moving? In future leases, you may want to include a provision requiring that they tell you no less than 45 days before expiration whether they want to renew. That way you are on firm ground to start showing it well in advance of expiration if they are unresponsive.
My lease from my apt. in Bklyn Hgts specified 2 months notice.I think that seems a more realistic time frame for both tenant and landlord.Whether month to month is better for either I guess just depends on the circumstances. But your tenant is wrong to ignore your requests to sign the lease.
the problem is that every tenant is on month to month rent unless you are going to chase them down once they move out.
OP: Thanks for the advice everyone. I agree we need to be clearer about the consequences with her. However is month to month really in the interest of the landlord ? Based on other posts here I think it isnt. For example, what if she decides to move in Dec (an awful month to rent). I am thinking that she either signs a new lease or we give her 30 days notice (if not more) and inform we will be showing the apt to rent for a year as of 1 Sept……
5:15- sounds like a win-win. I rent also and my take is the same as yours. Vanburenproud gives a good way to handle it. It puts your tenant on notice that it’s your situation to control and you have certain ground rules with a month to month, and you’re doing it in a businesslike and professional way so if she wants to stay, there’s no bad feelings.
She’ll decide pretty quickly when you start walking prospective tenants through the apartment.
Hi there, I’m a renter, and my read on the situation is that she buying time so that she can scan the market and see if she finds something better. I actually was in a similar situation not long ago – I was in a place that I liked quite a bit, had been there for two years, and my lease was up for renewal with a 5% increase in rent. The increase was predictable and something I could handle, but I was planning on working overseas for several 2-month stints throughout the coming year and had asked the landlord if during those periods I could sublet, which he was not OK with. Had he said yes to the sublet, I would have stayed, but him saying no prompted me to start looking to around to see if I could find something more interesting, which I did, at $450 per month cheaper than what I was going to have to pay with the renewed lease on the old place. Even if I can’t sublet this new place, at least I’m not losing as much rent as I would have been had I stayed at the old place.
The difference in my situation is that the landlord gave me until one month before the lease was up to decide on renewal. She probably can’t decide because 2 months in advance is too soon for her to tell.
After my move, my old landlord bumped up the rent an additional 5% from what I would have had to pay on the new lease, but ended up losing one month rent on turnover.
Any time I communicate as a landlord, I like to follow a strict structure. I lay out exactly what I want, using an if/then statement that ensures that I will get what I need either way.
So I would say something like:
“Hope you are having a great trip. I haven’t received your renewed lease. If you don’t get it to me by x date, then we are on new, month-to-month terms. A complete description of those terms is below. Failure to renew your lease by date x is going to be interpreted as acceptance of these terms, so be sure to look at them carefully if you’re not planning to renew.
If you don’t find the renewal lease or my month-to-month terms satisfactory, then please do talk to me about your concerns before x date.
Best,
Landlord”
Communicating this way is effective because you never lose agency, but you’re still being nice and allowing a conversation to occur.