When to find out if tenants are moving out?

[Amie D.]

I did a search but did not find anything - feel free to point me to a thread if I missed it.

How soon before lease expiration on an SFR do you ask your tenants (or require them to let you know) if they are renewing?

I have tenants on a 1-yr lease that ends at the end of February. The property is located outside Cincinnati and so winter is a slow time to get new renters. I asked the property manager in November what they typically do, and she said they would touch base with them in January. I asked her to let me know about a week ago when she had talked to them, but haven't heard back.

They are a younger couple and were upset early on because I would not let them paint (blues, purples, oranges), they've been paying on time but haven't heard anything + or - from them since then so it could go either way.