PM does not recommend yearly lease

[Inna T.]

Hello, I am new here and looking for an advise from experienced Cleveland investors. I recently bought a duplex in Cleveland Hight. Both units are currently occupied, with both leases coming to an end at the end of July. My PM is recommending not to require the tenants to sign another lease, but instead to have them continue month by month. They somehow tie this recommendation to the eviction moratorium.  They also recommend not to raise rents at all. Both of those recommendations seem strange to me. Granted, I don’t have a lot of experience, but my other properties ( in FL) always have at least 1 year lease (often 2 year) with an average increase of ~$100 each time the new lease is signed. Is it very different in Cleveland?

P.S, the current rents are $1175 and $1225 each

Thank you in advance

[Alecia Loveless]

@Inna T. In my market many landlords aren’t signing yearly leases right now, only month to month due to the eviction moratorium. That way if someone stops paying rent or there is a problem we can say it is a non-renewal of the lease as opposed to an eviction and get the courts to process it. Our court system is still backed up and it takes months to accomplish but we are able to remove tenants this way.