Tenant Refuse Rent Increase

[Marcus House]

I have a tenant that has been renting from me for 32 months (was a 2 year lease) without ever contacting me for maintenance the entire time and on time with rent every month.  After realizing their lease was expired for a while now, I recently reached out to them to have a civil discussion on the next steps.  Bottom line is they reject the idea of signing a new lease at a higher rent in any amount.  Given that it is still cold outside (don't want to take on the cost to winterize the property) and I want to take some time to think this over (while enjoying great positive cash flow), I told them we will just leave it as a month to month as is and either party will provide 30 day notice at any time to vacate the property.  I am likely going to give them 30 days notice to vacant the property in the Spring of 2020 but would like to get input from others.  How do others in the community think I should handle this.

[Corby Goade]

Rent increases should NEVER be a negotiation- regardless of what the market will bear. If your tenant refuses a rent increase and you are taking time to think it over, no offense, but you are doing it wrong. The rent is what it is, you either pay it or find another place to live. 

We send a renewal letter to our tenants that we choose to renew. They get two options- a one year lease or a two year lease, each includes some sort of rent increase. They pick one and sign a lease addendum. If they don't reply by the required date, they get a 30 day notice. 

Trust me- I am not judging you, I used to do the exact same thing and it sucked. It was stressful and I felt beat up all of the time. As soon as I started treating things like a business, life became so much easier- I have not had a discussion about a rent increase with a tenant in 10 years, they either sign the addendum or they send me their 30 day notice, easy peasy. Keep things professional and in writing- tenants aren't your friends, they are customers who are buying a product from you.