How to Renew a Lease with a Tenant

When it comes time to renew a lease, there can be many questions first-time landlords have over how to exactly conduct the process. Fortunately, it is relatively easy to initiate the process if you and your renter have decided it’s in both parties best interest to re-sign a lease for another year, month, or 6-months—whatever you decided!

How to renew a lease as a landlord?

As a landlord, you have the option to re-sign a lease with a tenant if they’d like to stay in your rental. If you’ve both agreed that renewing a lease is the best choice, then check out the contract signing process outlined below.

When to renew a lease?

Leases are typically signed within 30-60 days.

It’s important to stay organized and on top of your lease obligations so that you know when a lease expiration is up and coming. A property management site like RentRedi can show you at a glance if a lease is expiring or not, so you can have time to think over whether or not you’d like to renew a lease with a tenant.

Does rent go up when you renew a lease?

This depends on your landlord and on the lease agreement signed between parties. Typically, a rent increase of 3-5% is standard.

If you are a landlord, you can notify the tenant of the changing rent with a rent increase letter.

However, a lease renewal does not always mean the rent will go up. In fact, some tenants may negotiate to keep their rent the same. You should ask yourself this question: Is it worth it for my revenue to maintain a good tenant who pays rent on time or risk losing them to a rent increase?

Can a landlord not renew a lease?

A landlord can opt not to re-sign with tenants, as long as they provide the proper notice. Typically, this is done with a formal letter as proof of notice. They might choose not to renew a lease with a renter if the tenant didn’t pay rent on time, caused trouble, or broke other agreements in their lease.

On the other hand, a landlord might choose not to renew a lease for maintenance reasons. Perhaps they want to improve the condition of the property with construction, cleaning, upgrading appliances, or re-doing the flooring.

Can a tenant not renew a lease?

Of course, a tenant can choose not to renew a lease as well. Sometimes they find a different apartment or have to move for work.

If this is the case, your tenant should give you the required notice, which is usually 30 to 60 days. Even if they speak to you in person about not resigning a new lease, they should still write a formal 30 days notice or lease termination letter.