rent increase notice, vs. new lease

[Sami Gren]

hi, i was wondering what you guys think.

i was looking around since i am about to renew leases with several of my tenants, andi am always looking for new stuff.. and  i came across 2 different types of documents, 

1) is a rent increase notice, where you let them know that the rent will increase

2) is a nice letter  that i have attached a new lease, and if they agree to the terms they should sign, (and in the new  lease i just write in the new amount......) and if not, they should let me know.

what are the pro and cons of each of them, and which  of them do you prefer to use?

[Kelly N.]

I send out a notice stating what the new rent will be, and give them some time to decide what they want to do.  If they want to stay, I bring a new lease for them to sign (usually I drop it off and have a deadline for them to sign it by).  If they plan to move on, I start marketing the apartment.

Timing will depend on your market, but in our area we are leasing for August move ins starting in February, some companies are earlier than that.  So, I send out the rent increase notices in February, give them 3-4 weeks to give me an answer, then start marketing in March.  If they plan to stay, I have them sign the new lease by March 31, that way if they were just stalling I am still marketing at the right time.