Ready to make a move

October 14, 2023 8:21 PM

I currently rent out the house I own. The current tenant has a lease until June. I will be moving back into the house...

While June will work, I wouldn’t mind if the tenant were to move out a couple months before that. Also, though I am only legally obligated to give 30 days notice, I feel like that’s kindofa dick move to do that. So I would like to give the tenant earlier notice and also, perhaps, give some motivation to move out before the end of the lease. What can you suggest?

posted by falsedmitri to Home & Garden (17 answers total)

I don't know what the rental market is like where you are, but in many places, it is very, very difficult to find affordable housing, especially on short notice. In this type of situation, the fairest thing to do is to let the tenant know as early as possible that you will not be renewing the lease, to give them as much time as possible to find somewhere new. If you want them to move out early, be prepared to pay them to do so (you may wish to talk to a lawyer about how best to set up and document that payment). And, if your local rental market is tough, don't get your hopes up for an early move-out.
posted by ourobouros at 8:35 PM on October 14, 2023 [4 favorites]

Where I live, the rental market is tight and it's really hard for me to move because I'd have to give notice on my current place before even seeing what my options might be to move TO. So, if my landlord wasn't going to renew my lease but wanted me gone earlier and was OK with uncertainty, I'd appreciate the flexibility of "Hey, just so you know, I'm moving back in in June so won't be renewing your lease, but if you want to leave earlier I'd let you terminate your lease with no penalty."

If you wanted me gone at a fixed date earlier than June ... you'd have to sweeten the deal a lot. At least a month's rent, probably (much) more.
posted by Metasyntactic at 8:41 PM on October 14, 2023 [16 favorites]

When my landlord wanted to end the lease early in the long long ago times (2002ish) they gave me $3000 and paid for professional movers. Asking someone nicely to move out early with no incentive is probably not the play, unless you (as Metasyntactic said) sweeten the deal.
posted by sacrifix at 8:52 PM on October 14, 2023 [3 favorites]

The more time that someone has to find a new place, the better. The right thing to do would be to let them know as soon as possible that you won't be renewing the lease.

We can't say whether moving out early would be a hardship or a benefit for your tenant, though, because that will depend on their life circumstances and what is available in your area. It could be that they find something where the lease starts in May; in that case, ending their lease with you early would be a benefit, since they wouldn't have to pay rent on two places at once (this has happened to me). Or it could be that they have difficulty finding something and ending the lease early would leave them without a place to live.

The thing is, if it is a hardship for them to move out early, it could be a significant hardship - and you will have to offer something that outweighs that. I agree that at least a month's rent sounds right, but be prepared for them to turn this down as not worth it.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 8:53 PM on October 14, 2023

- Tell them _now_

- Find at least two places they can rent that are comparable to yours (location, space, safety, cost, availability, cleanliness, bathtub, etc.) and _ask your tenants_ if either would be a possibility.

- Offer to give a wonderful reference to a new landlord - your tenants are losing a lot by having to work with someone new

- Definitely pay for movers. If you can offer them a storage unit for a couple of months, plus assistance moving belongings in and out of the unit, that will be a LOT easier to accomplish by the end of the lease if they are busy people who don't have two months to spare for moving.
posted by amtho at 9:37 PM on October 14, 2023 [3 favorites]

As much notice, and as much money for the inconvenience of your asking them to consider being out early, as you can possibly manage. It would take significantly more than a month's worth of rent to get me to go through the pain of apartment hunting, packing, and moving, personally.
posted by Stacey at 9:45 PM on October 14, 2023 [3 favorites]

As a renter, if I was given plenty of notice that my lease would not be renewed, and told I could move out early without penalty, that would be enough for me to feel fairly treated.
posted by kickingtheground at 10:43 PM on October 14, 2023 [30 favorites]

None of the options people have suggested to sweeten the deal are cheap. At that point I’d prefer planning certainty and plan my own move for after June and spend that money on storing my own things or whatever inconvenience your end you are trying to overcome here.

Also figure out what being flexible about move out date means here.

Would you be ok with them moving in February? If flexible means any time between April and end of June give them that window. Otherwise you’ll find they move in with their partner in December. If that works for you that’s great. But you have to figure out what you can and cannot accommodate and then be specific with your tenants.
posted by koahiatamadl at 11:19 PM on October 14, 2023

If it is really not that big a deal to move in early, you could structure a move-out incentive this way, say at the end of February, "I will not be renewing the lease at the end of June. If you move out by the end of March, I will give you $1,500 cash at the final inspection. If you move out at the end of April, I will give you $1,000 at the final inspection. If you move out at the end of May, I will give you $500 at the final inspection." They may not take the offer, but you are providing compensation to mutually agree to break the lease.
posted by eleslie at 4:17 AM on October 15, 2023 [4 favorites]

How does having a lease until the end of June square with 30 days notice to vacate? They don't actually have a lease, then?

If it's not a problem for you to wait until June to move in, I would tell them now that you are not renewing their lease and then wait until June to move in.

As a former renter, if I had a lease for another 8 and half months (!) and the landlord was like "jk lol" I would be fucking pissed.
posted by rhymedirective at 6:24 AM on October 15, 2023 [3 favorites]

I think telling them now and letting them know they can terminate early with no penalty (and maybe even giving you less than 30 days notice, since you're motivated to move in) is a good way to do it - that way they have the ability to find a new place they like at their semi-leisure over a much longer period of time, without having to worry about paying rent on two places. That's a great perk for an inconvenient situation, IMO.

Depending on your own financial situation, if you could offer waiving the last month (or maybe two ) of rent they end up staying (even retroactively) to help with the hardship of moving, that would be excellent of you.
posted by urbanlenny at 7:19 AM on October 15, 2023 [3 favorites]

Confusing question. Are you in the US? Is this lease a standard 12 month lease or a month-to-month lease?
posted by crazy with stars at 7:32 AM on October 15, 2023 [2 favorites]

(The question says there's a lease that doesn't end until June, and the minimum 30-days notice mentioned is talking about 30 days before the lease is up in June, not arbitrarily mid-lease.)
posted by nobody at 8:00 AM on October 15, 2023 [3 favorites]

Does the lease you have with the renter have an early termination clause? Every lease I have ever signed has had a god-awful financial penalty for breaking lease (as a renter), which is not reciprocal to the landlord. Read that and let it guide your actions--it will outline your contractual obligations as landlord, should you choose to terminate the lease early, as well as what your renter would be obligated to do if they made that choice. You can absolutely only do what you are obligated to by the lease; but it sounds like you might also want to compare the relative hardship and act accordingly.

Speaking as someone whose landlord sold their place because the seller's market is hot, and stuck to only their legal obligations, the outcome for us was not . . . positive.
posted by ailouros08 at 8:54 AM on October 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

Are they pretty good tenants? Tell your tenants you plan to end their lease when it expires because you want to move back in to your house. Explain that you'd like to move back before their lease expires, if possible, and would not enforce any early departure fees, but, of course, they have a legal right to stay until the lease ends. Assure them that you will not/ are not pressuring them. Write them the best reference you can. Contact friends, family & neighbors to help them find a new place. They have a deposit, probably 1 month's rent. Have it readily available and no BS about minor stuff. If possible, arrange a time to do a basic inspection.

It's going to be difficult for them; they have to leave their home, so decide what you can afford to assist them. To clear a rental, some landlords offer a premium - key money - for painless move out, anywhere from several hundred to a month's rent. Or finding a qualified mover and offering to pay their price would be good.

There is a risk that they will stop paying rent, and ride out an eviction process, which can be time-consuming. Learn the regulations, assess the risk. Most people don't do this, but it does happen and is a huge hassle. That's why landlords offer key money. Be as non-adversarial as possible, most people respond well, and you want to use your house, you're not a Big Bad Megacorp.
posted by theora55 at 9:54 AM on October 15, 2023 [2 favorites]

I would tell them in January and let them know that if they find something earlier, there will be no penalties for moving out sooner. At an absolute minimum I would give them 90 days notice but 6 months is kinder. I was given 60 days once because the landlord was going to “sell” my house (they did not, they just raised the rent past what they could have gotten from a sitting tenant) and it was a huge scramble even in a far far kinder rental market than todays.
posted by mygothlaundry at 11:28 AM on October 15, 2023

I would tell them as soon as possible that you won't be renewing the lease in June and that you would not seek any penalties if they were to move out any time before then. This gives them a lot of time to find somewhere else without the pressure of just the legal minimum. They're going to have to move out anyway, so letting them set the timing of that is a reasonable approach. Depending on their reaction, you may want to sweeten the deal in some way, but giving eight months' notice is pretty reasonable to begin with, given you stand to lose up to that much rent if they are lucky enough to find something else straight away.
posted by dg at 5:47 PM on October 15, 2023 [1 favorite]