not allowing winter move outs

[KENDRA J.]

Hi

One of our tenants has a one year lease that ended last month on a 1 bedroom condo he rents from us. Tenant has been a good renter who has paid on time so we are allowing him to go month to month. We do not want a Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb move out on this property but did not include that in the original lease. Would we have to have the tenant sign a new lease with those months excluded from moving out? Does anyone know if it is legal in the state of MN to not allow tenants to move out during winter months?

[Jon Holdman]

IMHO long leases favor the tenant much more than MTM. If things happen in a tenants life that mean they need to move, they will. Lease or not. OTOH, if they're a pain, and you want them out, you cannot. The cuffs are more tightly on the landlord than the tenant. I prefer MTM. With MTM a tenant can tell you they are leaving and do it amicably. With a lease, they will just disappear if needs must.

In the end, there is NOTHING you can do that will guarantee your move outs are in the better times of year. It may take a little longer, but you can get a tenant any time of year.