How do I give notice that I am not renewing Lease - St Louis, MO

Question

I am closing on my first investment property a duplex in St Louis MO in about a month. I am using a VA loan and I am required to live in on of the units. One unit is month to month and has been for 6 years, the other has a lease until July of next year. How do I give notice to the month to month unit that I will not be renewing their lease correctly?

The tenant has already been unofficially notified that this is my intent through the real estate agents. During the inspection walk through the tent expressed their unhappiness with my decision to move into their unit. I just want to make sure if for whatever reason the tenant gets sue happy that I do everything correctly.

Maggie L. · Answer

Jeffrey,I definitely recommend looking through the landlord guide for Missouri posted above, as well as the copy of the current resident's lease for guidance. It is a month to month lease, so typically 30 days written notice (at the first of the month) is all that is required, BUT the tenant's lease (which you took on when purchasing the property) may state otherwise. You should have already received a copy of the lease from the current owner, but if not get it IMMEDIATELY so you can look it over.To be more thorough in you may want to spring for certified mail - make sure you have documentation of when it was sent and when it was received. If you don't have a real estate attorney, it may be worth talking to one briefly. There are also some great resources and even free classes on issues like this e.g. eviction, lease content, tenant screening through the Tower Grove Neighborhoods Community Development Corporation in St Louis. I attended their eviction class last spring and they had many useful speakers - a real estate lawyer, police, as well as a panel of landlords. I can send you info on this if you'd like.The advice to be amicable is EXCELLENT, imo. The last thing you want is someone unhappy as they move out. One thing I'd like to ask: have you considered asking the other tenant to move out early? There's no reason you can't alter their lease to end sooner; at the very least you can say that you tried but you're legally bound to let the person live there until the lease expires.An offer to help them look for a new place may also go a long way to avoid a cash for keys/insurance claim due to damage scenario. I'm a big fan of padmapper.com personally.Maggie

Ralph Hunter · Answer

Here is the link to the Landlord Tenant Law for Missouri. I took a quick peek and it states that you need to provide written notice. Though I did not see where it said how much notice you needed to provide. Looks a little vague. In my experience, it is proper to give at least 30 day's notice on a month-to-month lease. Unless you have just cause, I do not believe you can terminate a year's lease until the term expires and then they would require 30 day notice as well. You will want to make sure that it is in writing and I would recommend that it is sent certified mail just to be safe.

Ronald Perich · Answer

Something to think about in this situation is trying to make it a win for the person. They are being uprooted from their "home" for the last six years through no fault of their own. Who knows what bitterness this might cause (as they already expressed). And with bitterness comes that tiny little devil sitting on your shoulder. Every night while the resident is in bed, that little guy is whispering "concrete in the toilet will show him", "don't worry about breaking that door when you move out", ...So help this person out if you can swing it. Maybe cash for keys kind of thing or offer to get two men and a truck out to help him move. You never know when they might be looking at one of your rentals in the future.It's a shame you have to ask a six-year person to move, especially if they have been a decent resident and on-time with their rent.

Maggie L. · Answer

@Jeffery Neal oh the joys of adjusting below market rental rates.http://towergrovecdc.org/cdbg-activities/landlord-... is the list of topics they had for landlord training this year; I'd recommend emailing Dana and asking for the handouts to start. They also offer tenant screening services (which they advertise at the start of every training) and have access to some databases that aren't generally available, which is one of the reasons I use them. I think the training is really useful for new landlords, but they have lots of other resources for landlords and real estate more generally.

Jeffery Neal · Answer

@Ralph Hunter Thanks for the link to landlord tenant laws that was very helpful.@Ronald Perich Your idea on have a win-win situation is excellent advice. Its a small price to pay for movers when they could damage the unit. Like you said who knows they could be looking at another unit of mine in the future. I really hate that I have to have them move as well. @Maggie Lalor Please send me more information on the Tower Grove Neighborhoods Community Development Corporation. That sounds like a really great resource. The main reason that that I have decided to move into the unit that is month to month is because they are a family member to the previous owner and their rent is substantially lower than market for the area and the size of the unit. I think the low rent is one of the main reasons the tenant has stayed as long as she has. I would have to start raising the rent right out the gate and this would most likely force them to move and then I really would have concrete in my toilets. lol