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Old 05-01-2015, 06:00 PM
 
2 posts, read 3,009 times
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My lease expires at the end of August and my landlord is already asking me if I want to renew. My lease states that I have to give notice 90 days before but I was wondering if that rule applies to the landlord asking to renew as well. Is he allowed to ask me for my decision 4 months early?

The second part of my question is about what to do. I'm a little up in the air about next year. I might move state or maybe even country. But all this is very up in the air at the moment. I was wondering if it would be smarter to renew for 6 months (if the landlord is ok with that) or to renew for a year and break my lease if I need to move. He's very cheap and increased my rent already (I'm in my 2nd year) on a place that's already pretty expensive. I went from $1590 to $1665 and the next lease would be at $1680. I'm concerned that he will jack up the rent if I ask for a 6 month option. I have loud new neighbors too which I need to factor in. Would you renew for a year with the risk of having to break it or would you ask for 6 months. I might end up staying a year, I just don't know yet.

I'm on the east side of Providence.

Thanks for your help!
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Old 05-01-2015, 08:04 PM
 
Location: Henderson, NV
5,314 posts, read 7,747,130 times
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Remember, if you break your lease, you are still responsible for the remaining months. They may say "you're responsible until it is re-rented, or until your lease is up", but it's ALWAYS until your lease is up, especially with a disreputable landlord.
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Old 05-01-2015, 08:26 PM
 
Location: College Hill
2,903 posts, read 3,429,640 times
Reputation: 1803
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mialee View Post
My lease expires at the end of August and my landlord is already asking me if I want to renew. My lease states that I have to give notice 90 days before but I was wondering if that rule applies to the landlord asking to renew as well. Is he allowed to ask me for my decision 4 months early?

The second part of my question is about what to do. I'm a little up in the air about next year. I might move state or maybe even country. But all this is very up in the air at the moment. I was wondering if it would be smarter to renew for 6 months (if the landlord is ok with that) or to renew for a year and break my lease if I need to move. He's very cheap and increased my rent already (I'm in my 2nd year) on a place that's already pretty expensive. I went from $1590 to $1665 and the next lease would be at $1680. I'm concerned that he will jack up the rent if I ask for a 6 month option. I have loud new neighbors too which I need to factor in. Would you renew for a year with the risk of having to break it or would you ask for 6 months. I might end up staying a year, I just don't know yet.

I'm on the east side of Providence.

Thanks for your help!
Dude! I didn't realize the Taj Mahal was located on the East Side! $1665?

http://www.brown.edu/Administration/...LTHandbook.pdf

Read and most of your questions will be answered.

Do not break a lease. It is a contract. Apart from your moral obligation, it will likely impact future rentals.

I have an excellent tenant lawyer -- a bulldog. DM me if you want his name.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Raiderman View Post
Remember, if you break your lease, you are still responsible for the remaining months. They may say "you're responsible until it is re-rented, or until your lease is up", but it's ALWAYS until your lease is up, especially with a disreputable landlord.
"Disreputable landlord?" In Providence? Shirley you jest, Sir.
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Old 05-01-2015, 09:17 PM
 
Location: Beautiful Rhode Island
9,213 posts, read 14,765,846 times
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I believe the new city budget is proposing reneging on the reduced landlord property tax load (believe it was previously almost double the owner occupancy rate). If this is approved, it means that rents will go up in Providence. http://www.golocalprov.com/news/ten-...budget-address

No, you don't have to give the landlord an answer 4 mos in advance. Just tell him you don't know yet if you want to renew.
You signed a contract that said a 90 day notice was required- stick to that. Maybe you want to look for a cheaper place or get a room mate.

Last edited by Hollytree; 05-01-2015 at 09:27 PM..
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Old 05-01-2015, 10:03 PM
 
Location: College Hill
2,903 posts, read 3,429,640 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hollytree View Post
I believe the new city budget is proposing reneging on the reduced landlord property tax load (believe it was previously almost double the owner occupancy rate). If this is approved, it means that rents will go up in Providence. GoLocalProv | Ten Things to Know About Elorza

No, you don't have to give the landlord an answer 4 mos in advance. Just tell him you don't know yet if you want to renew.
You signed a contract that said a 90 day notice was required- stick to that. Maybe you want to look for a cheaper place or get a room mate.
Holly, I defer to your superior knowledge and experience, but doesn't the tenant/landlord code supersede any landlord-drafted lease?

As to the Ops rent -- I have a pretty good handle on the rental situation on College Hill and he's paying waaaay too much, even for a two BR. I mean, this ain't Chelsea, this ain't Midtown. Another reason to love PVD.

Just for fun:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NldPFVKYmiw

Goodnight, everybody. We've all worked hard all damned week and deserve sweet dreams!

Last edited by AlfieBoy; 05-01-2015 at 10:19 PM..
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Old 05-01-2015, 10:55 PM
 
548 posts, read 811,543 times
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Not true in RI. Not only are you responsible only until re-rented, but the landlord must make every reasonable effort to re-rent promptly -- they have to advertise, they can't decide to spend 3 months repainting the place, etc. Moreover, if the landlord doesn't dot every i and cross every t in demanding continued rent from you, they may not be able to make their demands stick. My wife has seen judges rule against landlords merely because the LL only send a notice via 1st class mail instead of certified mail when they were supposed to.

The text of your lease also fails if it is contrary to state law -- for example, even if you and your landlord agree in writing that the LL can give you shorter notice than what is in state law, that agreement is not binding; LL can not hold tenant to anything less favorable than the default provisions in state law.

Two good resources:

http://www.brown.edu/Administration/...LTHandbook.pdf

http://www.rils.org/documents/tenant_rights.pdf



Quote:
Originally Posted by Raiderman View Post
Remember, if you break your lease, you are still responsible for the remaining months. They may say "you're responsible until it is re-rented, or until your lease is up", but it's ALWAYS until your lease is up, especially with a disreputable landlord.
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Old 05-01-2015, 11:45 PM
 
Location: Earth, a nice neighborhood in the Milky Way
3,585 posts, read 2,591,810 times
Reputation: 1560
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hollytree View Post
I believe the new city budget is proposing reneging on the reduced landlord property tax load (believe it was previously almost double the owner occupancy rate). If this is approved, it means that rents will go up in Providence. GoLocalProv | Ten Things to Know About Elorza

No, you don't have to give the landlord an answer 4 mos in advance. Just tell him you don't know yet if you want to renew.
You signed a contract that said a 90 day notice was required- stick to that. Maybe you want to look for a cheaper place or get a room mate.
I'd be willing to bet that when the City Council/Mayor enacted the property tax load, that rents did not go down!

Quote:
Originally Posted by AlfieBoy View Post
Holly, I defer to your superior knowledge and experience, but doesn't the tenant/landlord code supersede any landlord-drafted lease?

As to the Ops rent -- I have a pretty good handle on the rental situation on College Hill and he's paying waaaay too much, even for a two BR. I mean, this ain't Chelsea, this ain't Midtown. Another reason to love PVD.
That's the way I've always understood it: no contract can make requirements counter to prevailing law. I think the 90 day notice is-in essence-what the state law requires for renewing a year-to-year tenancy. I think you have to mail your notice with a postmark at least three months in advance.

OP, many landlords will not be so amenable to a 6 month lease extension, because it puts the property on the market (in your case) March 1, which is a tough time to rent in New England. Even a reputable landlord might have difficulty re-renting if you attempt to break a lease at that time, and you could be on the hook for the rent to the end of the lease term.

Four months in advance is the time to be negotiating a lease term modification . I think the landlord would be within their rights to charge a higher monthly rent for a shorter than one year term, but they might see that as a gamble they're willing to take: higher monthly rent for 6 months with the hope of getting someone else in there once you leave. It doesn't sound like you think too much of your landlord, however, so maybe negotiations won't go well.

It does sound like your rent is pretty high, but if you can negotiate the six month out, it may not be worth the hassle and expense of moving for the monthly rent savings to be had elsewhere.

My experience trying to get my landlord to let me stay 2-3 months past the end of my lease did not work out. I went to them well in advance of the lease notification timeline, and while their initial reaction was positive, they changed their mind because they didn't want to try to rent in late fall; so I had to move. I'm sure they regretted that decision when, 4 months after move out, they still had not rented the apartment...
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Old 05-02-2015, 07:37 AM
 
Location: Beautiful Rhode Island
9,213 posts, read 14,765,846 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ormari View Post


That's the way I've always understood it: no contract can make requirements counter to prevailing law. I think the 90 day notice is-in essence-what the state law requires for renewing a year-to-year tenancy. I think you have to mail your notice with a postmark at least three months in advance.
This is correct- 90 days on a year lease. Make a decision- stay or go. You can try to negotiate the rent increase. If you've been a good responsible tenant who has paid on time and not caused trouble- he might listen. But if you don't like the noisy neighbors- go!!! No sense being unhappy.
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Old 05-02-2015, 09:26 AM
 
548 posts, read 811,543 times
Reputation: 578
The point about how granting an extension can change the ease of re-renting given seasonal markets is a good one. Landlords near Brown would probably prefer a lease turning over in the summer, assuming they are interested in renting to students. Finding a new tenant in Newport is almost impossible in the winter.

If you want to move an end date to a date that is a slower market period, it's not unreasonable for a LL to say no or at least ask for something in return like higher rent for that last lease term.

I confess to playing hardball with this issue a while back. We needed a two month extension on a lease, and our landlord wouldn't give it to us when we talked well in advance-- caught me very much by surprise as we had a good relationship and I'd been there years (and if anything our proposed end would have been a better time to re-rent). I told the LL to send us a new lease for us to review... then never returned it. He did not ask about it, and didn't send notice at the 60 day point (and I believe RI is 60, not 90). The week before the term end, he left a few phone messages reminding us to return lease with next rent check. Instead, we sent next rent check with an explanation that since the lease had timed out we were now month-month, and gave _our_ 60 day notice. LL very unhappy at first but quickly figured out he couldn't do anything about it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ormari View Post
My experience trying to get my landlord to let me stay 2-3 months past the end of my lease did not work out. I went to them well in advance of the lease notification timeline, and while their initial reaction was positive, they changed their mind because they didn't want to try to rent in late fall; so I had to move. I'm sure they regretted that decision when, 4 months after move out, they still had not rented the apartment...
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Old 05-02-2015, 10:07 AM
 
Location: College Hill
2,903 posts, read 3,429,640 times
Reputation: 1803
Quote:
Originally Posted by neguy99 View Post
The point about how granting an extension can change the ease of re-renting given seasonal markets is a good one. Landlords near Brown would probably prefer a lease turning over in the summer, assuming they are interested in renting to students. Finding a new tenant in Newport is almost impossible in the winter.

If you want to move an end date to a date that is a slower market period, it's not unreasonable for a LL to say no or at least ask for something in return like higher rent for that last lease term.

I confess to playing hardball with this issue a while back. We needed a two month extension on a lease, and our landlord wouldn't give it to us when we talked well in advance-- caught me very much by surprise as we had a good relationship and I'd been there years (and if anything our proposed end would have been a better time to re-rent). I told the LL to send us a new lease for us to review... then never returned it. He did not ask about it, and didn't send notice at the 60 day point (and I believe RI is 60, not 90). The week before the term end, he left a few phone messages reminding us to return lease with next rent check. Instead, we sent next rent check with an explanation that since the lease had timed out we were now month-month, and gave _our_ 60 day notice. LL very unhappy at first but quickly figured out he couldn't do anything about it.
You so smart! But I believe month-to-month is 30 day notice, not 60.
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