Tenant not responding to rent raise/lease renewal

[Christopher L.]

My wife and I are house hacking in Burbank, CA and have run into an unusual situation with a tenant that we're not sure how to handle. He and his family have been renting from us for two years without issue, their lease having rolled into a month-to-month agreement after the first year. In that time rents in the area have increased significantly, so in June we gave him a 60-day notice that rent will be increasing and we will be asking them to re-sign a 1-year lease (our feeling being that switching to annual leases will allow us to better automate annual rent adjustments and provide us some assurance that we won't be looking for tenants in the winter months). We told them that they could think it over but we needed an answer no later than 7/15.

Unfortunately, (or perhaps, as expected) we are now past the 7/15 deadline and they still have not responded with a clear decision. We are contacting them daily explaining that they either need to sign the new lease or make clear their intentions to vacate, but they are still delaying. My concern is that we will hit the end of the lease with no signed lease and no clear idea how to proceed.

So I'm opening it up to the group here. How should we best proceed going forward? What could I have done better to prevent this ambiguity? Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Wesley W.]

I had a very similar situation, so have refined the process to tighten things up.

Here's a copy of the letter I sent to my tenant.  As a house hacker, I would hand deliver AND send by certified mail, so they know you mean business.

Dear (tenant),

On (date) I sent you a lease addendum for a monthly rent increase of $50.00 for your rental unit, effective August 1, 2018. I asked that you sign and return the included Lease Addendum by July 15. We have not yet received the returned document from you.

I realize that you’ve probably forgotten or you’ve been busy, so I’m sending you another copy to sign and return to me at the address in the letterhead above.

We must receive this signed Lease Addendum by July 25. In failing to do so, I will assume the new rent amount is unacceptable to you and your tenancy will be terminated.

As always, I am happy to answer any questions you may have – so please feel free to reach out if you have any concerns.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

(you)