Section 8 tenant's lease is up, can I not renew the lease?

[Jade Wong]

My section 8 tenant is a c-tenant, always pays rent late or failure to pay for a couple of months. His lease expired last November and I haven't renewed it because I've been thinking if I should. Here're my questions:

1. Does this lease automatically become month-to-month? 

2. Can I give him a 30 day notice to ask him to move out?

3. Do I need to contact HOA to terminate his lease?

4. He sent us a repair request but doesn't let us go into the house when we tried to schedule a time. He said he would ask for an emergency inspection from HOA first. Is this right?

Thanks for your answers in advance! 

[Bradley Bogdan]

@Jade Wong Most PHAs do not automatically renew leases in one year terms, though some do, so do check your paperwork or with your local PHA. Most just follow your lease terms, which usually indicate reverting to a month-to-month after the initial term, and allow you to stop renting to a tenant with proper legal notice for your area. Just make sure to also inform your PHA of any notice or the tenant leaving, or they will likely try to keep paying you for someone who's not living there anymore and then get very cranky when they figure it out. As for the tenant, not renewing a lease is not an eviction, provided they leave when their term is up, or after you give them appropriate notice. If they don't leave after your term/notice is up, then you'll have to go through the eviction process. 

As an aside, if a tenant isn't making repairs easy, they're not one I'd recommend keeping. You'll end up paying in the long run with the wear and tear on your rental.