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For about 26 years or so, I lived in apartments around the country, but during those times I also owned a home that I would go back to when the current contract job (where I needed the apartment) was completed.
Job over... Pack up and go home... Wait for next job... Go get a new apartment.
But in all those times, I could start and end the lease pretty much any day of the month I desired.
These days, quite a lot of landlords have instituted these new rules that seem to be geared toward abusing the tenant. For instance...
If you stay one day beyond the 1st of the new month, you now owe the entire rent for the whole month.
You cannot start a new lease until the first of the month.
Toward the end of my career, I was seeing more and more of those two rules. Taken separately, they are fairly innocuous. But when you think of it, along with some other rules like "you must have the carpet "professionally" cleaned; I think people are getting ripped off.
How so?
If you cannot move into the new place until the first, then you have no place to move your stuff until the new apartment is ready on the 1st.
Since you have no place to put your stuff, you cannot move out of your current apartment until sometime after your furniture is gone.
You also cannot professionally clean the carpet until the furniture is gone.
This means there pretty much must be a overlap of leases, that if every apartment complex adopts these rules, for at least 1 month you are paying rent at two places. Now there are some who could get their places cleaned before-hand, then shuffle the furniture around to have the carpet cleaned, and also load the truck and move overnight - but I would think they are rare - especially if you are moving further than across town.
As I said, these were the rules I was seeing more and more about 4 years ago, this was especially true in places like Charlotte around the University and I would guess it is the same in other towns.
Question is, have you seen these rules getting tighter? Or have most places eased off?
The vast number of people who rent move "on the 1st." So if you want to move out on the 15th, the landlord is likely to have the space sit empty for at least two weeks. I see the pushback as not wanting any unrented days, or at least a minimum, and in putting the burden on the tenant to figure out how to move out, clean the carpets, etc. while being out at 12:00 am on the 1st and needing another place in that same time.
I understand what's going on, but think it's one of those situations where everyone would benefit from a little slack in the rope. (Like it always was, in the decade or so I rented houses.) But corporate ownership of rental properties and frantic flipper/landlord owners have driven things to these hard-ass terms.
Renting stinks. Always has. (The only thing worse is situations like renting space for a mobile home, where you have all the downside of owning plus all the downside of renting, and not much benefit from either.)
But hey! You can always invest all the extra wealth you're not pouring into a "money pit"... or so I've been told, at length, here.
Question is, have you seen these rules getting tighter?
What you're describing is the 'professionalism' end of the landlord business
but mostly it's about HOW those PM's can earn some extra fees beyond the face of their contract.
These operators have carved out all sorts of rackets and scams to force tenants into a costly corner..
The closer a tenant is to the actual property OWNER the less of this you'll see.
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Or have most places eased off?
They won't ease off until the market craps out again.
For now they're living high on the hog.
If you don't like the terms of the lease agreement, don't sign it. Large apartment owners may be unwilling to budge because they're plenty of folks willing to agree to their terms. Some of the best deals can be had by small landlords, especially ones looking to rent a unit in an owner occupied duplex and triplex.
This means there pretty much must be a overlap of leases...
I didn't address this point before but an overlap of time between leases is not unreasonable
but it's also not unreasonable for a LL to 'suffer' having a week of vacancy between paying tenants.
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...that if every apartment complex adopts these rules, for at least 1 month you are paying rent at two places.
Correct. And when the circumstance of the longer period is based in what is really nothing more than superficially imposed
and quite arbitrary policies it will feel abusive to not bend even a little. It's not like the rent rates aren't high too.
The current rental market is still strong and that allows the PM's to get away with it.
A few years ago market conditions were bad and a lot of owners were forced to eat
a lot of vacancies and offer bonuses in order to get qualified tenants. Say la vee.
If you don't like the terms of the lease agreement, don't sign it. Large apartment owners may be unwilling to budge because they're plenty of folks willing to agree to their terms. Some of the best deals can be had by small landlords, especially ones looking to rent a unit in an owner occupied duplex and triplex.
True in my experience. I was allowed to "visit" my new apartment about a week before move in, so I could take measurements for curtains, couch placement, etc. I spent about 40 minutes in there measuring and figuring out where everything was going to go.
As an extra added bonus, they offered me to move in 3 days before the 1st of the month with no charge. I got everything moved in Friday morning and was able to relax and put my stuff away. Really nice people, and i'm ready to renew my lease next week.
I think renters end up on the short end of the stick a lot, but this argument is just bizarre.
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