Lease renewal options with inherited tenant - St Paul Duplex

[Rich Leone]

Hello! Looking for some input from landlords with rentals in the Twin Cities area. We are closing on a duplex in St Paul on May 26, 2021. The 1st floor tenant has a lease that goes through July 31, 2021. There is a tenant on the 2nd floor that participates in a social services program which covers a large portion of their rent. I've been in touch with the organizers of that program and they've asked if the 1st floor unit could be available for another client in that program when that lease terminates. We would like to pursue that option. Given the current eviction moratoriums in place, is it still within our rights to simply inform that tenant in writing that we will NOT be renewing the lease? 

[Tim Swierczek]

@Rich you can renew you just can't be the party that terminates the lease.  You can raise the rent but you are capped at 20% increase from the March 2020 rent.  That's a big increase.  Sometimes an increase will make a tenant not want to renew, but if the increase pisses them off, it can backfire as they can stop paying and you can't evict.  I definitely recommend explaining any increase you decide to propose.