I have been living in unit for almost 3 years I renewed the lease for 12 months last year. I am almost at the end of it , is it mandatory to sign lease again as the property manager is pretty bad I would like the option to get out when I find the right one and not be locked in?
Edit : they've sent a letter that the landlord needs it for getting insurance though I doubt it as lot of tenants are leaving that seems to be the reason to lock in
Any suggestions are welcome
Thanks for reading
Can they force us to leave? As they say landlord needs it to get insurance but its probably because they want to lock me in
Of course they can (force you to leave if you don't sign it… with the correct notice period)
The notice period depends on the state. It's 90 days in Queensland. By default, if you don't sign a new lease you will transition to a periodical lease (QLD).
If you don't sign the lease, then you won't have a fixed term lease and so they can force you to leave. You can't have it both ways - either both you and the landlord are locked in, or you're both not locked in.
I call bullshit, there is no requirement to have a "new" signed lease to obtain landlord insurance.
Yes there is. To be eligible for arrears payments certain insurer contracts require a current fixed term lease.
You can't have your cake and eat it too.
If you want flexibility, then the landlord has it as well - you can leave at short notice, and they can flick you out at short notice.
If you want certainty, then the landlord has it as well.
You sign it, you safely have a place to stay for the next however many months the contract is.
You don't sign it and the landlord can practically evict you as soon as convenient to them.
You don't sign it and the landlord can practically evict you as soon as convenient to them.
No they can't. Not signing it means you're on a month-to-month lease. If they want to evict you, they then need to provide you with notice. Depending on state & reason, this can be between 30 days to 120 days
You don't sign it and the landlord can practically evict you as soon as convenient to them.
Not literally.
They can - they can evict give notice to vacate to OP, the process just takes time. But they can definitely legally do so - and if OP makes it difficult, I hope OP won't ever need to rent again in the future.
It's not mandatory to renew a lease. But the landlord can require it and if you refuse, they just give you a termination notice with the notice that is required as per your lease. More likely if you refuse, they will just increase your rent higher than they would have.
The insurance thing is BS. Like others have said, if you don't sign it, they can give you the standard notice period to ask you to move out or increase the rent. But chances are, if you pay on time and keep the property clean, they won't evict you as most property agents wouldn't be bothered to find another tenant.
But chances are, if you pay on time and keep the property clean, they won't evict you as most property agents wouldn't be bothered to find another tenant.
This.
If you’ve been a good tenant for those 3 years, the LL would be throwing away money to replace you (think It’s generally advertising plus one weeks rent).
The insurance thing is BS
Depends on the insurer. If the landlord has rental insurance then it might not kick in on a month-to-month basis.
Normally, you would start with a 6 or 12 month lease. At the end of the initial period, if you do nothing, the the lease becomes month-to-month until one side provides the required notice to vacate.
Some owners/agent would prefer you sign a new lease at the end of the initial period, but that is between yourself and the owner/agent to negotiate. On a month-to-month lease, you're not locked in, but it also means that the landlord can give you notice too - it's a two way street. You could try and negotiate a 6 month lease if you think that 12 months is too restrictive.
Property Manager just wants to lock you in for 12 months so they can place you and the property in their "forget about it" pile. Property management fees are locked in.
You do not have to agree. However, they can give you a 30/60 day notice to vacate at any time. Your call.
as a licensed estate agent, I get more income from a letting fee vs a reletting fee. its in the agents best interest to get a different tenant in. ongoing property management fees are the same irrespective whether new or existing tenant. its cheaper for a landlord to resign a new lease to an existing tenant.
…except when you factor in wages, fuel, time spent on inspections, then on the phone/email/internet/Equifax vetting potential renters, back and forwarding with the landlord, time spent chasing rent for new potential dodgy renter, time spent dealing with issues reported by new potential squeaky clean renter that the previous tenants never bothered to report, the list goes on.
Easier and cheaper to just nudge and put a bit of pressure on the existing quiet tenant, who always pays on time and never says a peep, and try and lock them in for 12 months. Then you shoot an email to the landlord saying what a great tenant they are! and the property management agency did such a great job finding them in the first place! oh, and since we're doing such a great job, here's a renewed exclusive management agreement for another 2 years please sign and return pronto!
mazejiwo
that is an interesting view from someone in the game.
i don't doubt you get extra for finding a new tenant but in this climate is it that easy to find a new tenant?
i don't think you will earn any income for the time it sits vacant between tenants and that could be a while.
are you likely to let the place for less money than the existing tenant is paying?
whats the chance of getting another tenant that will sign for multiple years without issues?
i am not in your industry but as a landlord i know i would like to keep the same tenant for as long as possible in the current climate unless they are a problem in which case i imagine you would have looked after my interests and removed them before 3 years.
this is why i have never used a property manager
At least they'll give you termination notice. Linda didn't give me any notice….
Why isn't there a ? or wtf icon next to the + and - icons at the top right?
Thanks pjetson
It's not clear, do you want to stay or go ?
The PM is employed by the landlord who may think he's done a great job over the last 3+ years.
Usually the PM wants some indication 2 months out if you intend to renew.
Re insurance: Landlord may want to know if it isn't going to be renewed, he will apply a standard home insurance policy until it is re-let to reduce his insurance cost slightly - but this wouldn't be deductible so he would probably stay with Landlord Insurance even if it's empty.
Go to month to month so you can get out when you want. Noting the landlord can also get rid of you when they want 😂
For most of the places we rented we only signed the original lease and then went month to month after that. It might be worth using the current lease end as an impetus to see what is currently out there as an alternative. The problem is you have the property manager between you and the landlord, so it is unlikely you will be able to get the issue across. Maybe find somewhere else and then highlight to the property manager why you are leaving.
Are you trolling us here? Most of the OZB here has nothing to do but troll people
just go find a new place and keep paying what you normally do until they say something.
Sigh
No, it's not mandatory to re-sign a lease, there are pro's and con's to either side.
If you re-sign the lease then you have a stable residence for the duration of the agreement, the owner also can't increase the rent during a contracted period (unless it's specifically written into the contract).
If you stay on month to month, you can leave any time you want with 28 days notice, but the landlord can also serve notice to vacate or choose to increase the rent if they should like to.
Do not sign a renewal of lease.
I refused to. There is no benefit to you and plenty to the landlords because you have to pay their fees if you leave. Its your one bit of leverage you have against rent increases and other crap they will send your way. Threaten to leave and remind them of the resulting fees and lost rental during the re-let and you will usually find they change their tune.
I just told the agent there is no benefit to me and therefore no reason for wanting to re-sign and that I was happy to go to month to month. They shut up and left me alone.
Don't believe the crap re insurance. If they insist then ask for proof. My own tenants are month to month and my insurance is all fine.
And the comments above about security and not being able to increase your rent are not true. The rent increase rules, notice periods and complexity in evicting are the same.
The rent increase rules, notice periods and complexity in evicting are the same.
Not really.
rent increase rules: 6 months vs 12 months period for rent increases
notice periods and evicting: Except for breaches of Lease, which will require VCAT\NCAT intervention, they cannot serve a Notice except for a few specific scenarios.
Signing a new lease is optional.
The period of the lease is also optional. Dont feel obliged to sign another 12 month lease. yes you can simply ask for a 3 month lease.
The lease locks in the nominated rent on the lease for another 3/ 6 /12 months.
It also locks you into a legal contract to stay for another 12 months.
Note however I mentioned "locks in rent" which means you cant negotiate a decrease in rent either once you sign a lease so best to negotiate a decrease in rent as a condition of signing a new lease if market conditions support such a move.
In the current over-supplied rental market (in many areas) its best to leave your options open so you can either move to another apartment at the same or better rent or negotiate a decrease in rent.
Dont worry, the agent wont be asking you to leave any time soon unless you are not paying the rent on time.
As for the property manager I would suggest calling the owner of the real estate agency you rent through and discuss your issues with them suggesting you prefer to have a different property manager on the property or you will vacate.
You can find thier name and contact name on thier web site..
They can't force you to sign it. You can do whatever you want