How to Renew a Rental Lease
When a rental lease is about to end, there is always the decision to be made as to whether to stay on at the current place or move to another rental property. If you have a good tenant relationship with your landlord and want to maintain stability with regard to your place of residence, you may consider renewing your rental lease. Before signing off on a renewed rental property lease, make sure you do your homework and be confident that it is the best option.
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Instructions
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Evaluate your current rental lease. List the pros and cons and determine your financial comfort level in terms of what you get for your money's worth as the lease currently stands. In an article by Amy Hoak on MarketWatch, rent excluding utilities should account for about 30% of a renter's net income.
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Give adequate notice of your intent to renew your rental lease. According to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign website, your landlord has no obligation to renew your lease or offer you a new one. Do not wait until the last minute to inform your landlord of your intent to renew the rental lease as he may have other plans with regard to leasing the property.
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Negotiate the terms of your extended rental lease. Determine what you can afford to pay and for how long you would like to renew your rental property lease. Suggest keeping your current monthly rates as you will be saving the landlord costs that would be incurred if he were to start looking for a new tenant. Keep in mind that the landlord may raise the rent at the end of a lease, subject to any rent control laws, according to the FindLaw website.
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Sign the paperwork for the renewed lease. Get your extended rental lease contract in writing and sign it to ensure its validity. Check to see that the terms you agreed upon are clearly outlined to avoid unpleasant surprises like rental price increases later on in your rental lease. The FindLaw website advises that you should never let your landlord fill in renewal lease details later by ensuring that all blanks are filled in when you sign the rental lease.
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References
- Photo Credit front of building image by elenarostunova from Fotolia.com
