Month to Month Lease

[Brad Morsberger]

I will begin managing an apartment for my father as of Jan 1, 2016.  His current tenant is a friend of my family and he is always late on the rent and since my dad is a nice guy he always allowed it.  I have control of the property now and I want him out.

He is on a month to month lease and I want to terminate the lease so I can update the apartment.

My question is am I legally obligated to terminate for that reason?

[Roy N.]

@Brad Morsberger

If the tenant is on a month-to-month tenancy, in most jurisdictions you can simple serve a Notice of termination one rental period prior ... i.e. if you want him to move for February 01, you'd better tell him tomorrow. 

Now, in some places (like out home jurisdiction) a "long term tenant" may be afforded additional rights under the tenancy law.  Here, a long term tenant is defined as a tenancy >5-yrs in duration and in such a situation we must provide 3-months notice of termination.

Check the tenancy law in your jurisdiction to see if there are additional right for a long-term tenant, and service notice when you are ready.