Asking quick question about month-to-month lease

[Corbin Jones]

Hi all,

My question regards month-to-month leasing. I have a tenant in my newly purchased rental property and she's been on a month-to-month lease for the past 5 years under former ownership. Do I need her to sign the lease every single month? Or is it fine to just have her sign it once unless something changes?

[Thomas S.]

Keep in mind the length of a lease has no bearing on how long a tenant stays. They leave when they choose regardless of a lease.

I prefer M2M. Draw up your own new lease, M2M, to include everything you want and have her sign it. It will automatically renew every month without resigning . To do your annual rent increase you simply send out a notice of the new rent and when it begins. You do not need to sign a new lease every time you raise the rent. The notification is all that is needed.

Your tenant can sign a longer lease if she chooses however there is no advantage for you as the landlord to use a longer term lease. If she has been there for 5 years on M2M where do you see a 1 year term as being a improvement.