Renting out my home for 1 year?

Question

If I want to rent my house out for a year, but ONLY a year, how would I go about this? Telling prospective tenants up front is likely to drive many of them away, so what is the procedure to make the tenant leave after the lease is up and do so legally? How much notice do I have to give that they will have to find a new place?

Katie Stewart · Answer

I would just be upfront about it in the property description as well as when you're speaking with potential tenants. I'm sure there are people out there that only want a one-year lease!

Matt Devincenzo · Answer

It's all up to local City/State guidance. Usually 30 day notice or a time period equal to one lease payment (i.e. a weekly rental would be at least 1 week notice) of non renewal of tenancy. Once you've given notice that is it...I would suggest being up front that it is a 1 year rental only. It's better to cultivate a tenant that has the same goal in mind (leaving at the end of a year) than to face an uncertain reception to you ending their lease 'abruptly'.

You may be pleasantly surprised at what you find. There are likely plenty of people willing to rent for a year:

• Someone moving to the area and wants to buy a house once they know the place better
• Someone selling a home to move and prefer to sell then buy vs trying to do both concurrently
• Remodeling/Renovating and want to not be effected daily by the construction
• Sudden job/school/life change that isn't bad, but didn't allow for time to figure out a buying type option
• Insurance claim that resulted in the home being uninhabitable
• ....

So give it a shot and see what you get with an upfront presentation of what you want out of the lease time frame.

Michinori Kaneko · Answer

usually you spell that out in the contract.  month ~ 2 months advance notice.

Kayla V. · Answer

I've done this- I took a one year out of state work assignment and rented out my primary home while I was gone. Luckily, the tenants we found were looking for a one year lease before they bought a house of their own, but otherwise I would have just not renewed the lease. The amount of notice you need to give them will depend on your lease and state laws, but typically 30-60 days.