Good tenant requesting Month-to-Month lease

[Sharon Zhou]

Hi everyone,

I need some advice on a rental situation. My tenant's lease is ending in July, and she's asked if she can switch to a month-to-month lease because she recently left her job and is looking for a new one. She's willing to pay a premium for the month-to-month arrangement.

I've never done a month-to-month lease before and I'm worried it might be a hassle, especially since I don't know how the market will be in the winter. I've heard winter can be a tough time for rentals with potentially lower rents. My current rent is $2875, but similar less-upgraded units in my community are listed for $3100.

For context, this is a town house in Northern VA and my tenant has been great for the past two years. I want to help her out but also want to avoid significant financial loss.

Could anyone share their experiences with month-to-month leases? What’s the worst-case scenario for rental prices during winter?

Thanks in advance!

[David Bennett]

Not to disagree with Thomas or Jaron, but a question I would have is more to the termination requirements for your jurisdiction.  In Washington State, where I am, when you go to M2M on a lease you cannot then terminate that lease without just cause.  This makes M2M undesirable in many cases. Your tenant sounds like a good tenant otherwise, but you should be sure that your jurisdictional rules changing from a term to M2M do not change in a way you are not prepared to handle.