Good morning all,

I need some help with a question please. I sent my tenant the rent increase letter with the two options, accept the rent increase and renew for one year or vacate by such and such date. The letter was due back to me on 12/4 and i didn't get it back. Yesterday i reached out to her and asked her to kindly get it back to me immediately she responded and said she would send it today which was yesterday but never did. How would you now handle this situation? 

There is really nothing you can do but wait. The tenant responded to you so I wouldn't be worried until she starts to ghost you. Is this a year lease that is terminating and you are looking for her to renew or vacate? If so, do you have language in your lease that it reverts to a month to month if the tenant remains? Tenant is probably just weighing her options and thinking things over. 

Actually, my response would be to send her a termination notice. If she decides she wants to renew, you can decide whether you'll accept that or stick with the termination. Deadlines aren't deadlines without consequences.

@Nathan G. that is what I was thinking because she had plenty of time to get it back to me with whether or not she was going to vacate or renew with the rent increase and I even sent her a reminder and she said she would get the form back to me yesterday. I agree that I provided her a deadline and gave her 7 days unless that isn't realistic? The only question I have is that I think I might have messed up since I signed the notice when I sent it to her and I probably should not have? Thoughts on that? Not sure why I did that and I just realized that. 

I'm with Nathan.  You should have told them they have until X to respond or you will assume they are terminating the lease and then follow up on that day either with a notice of termination or a copy of the new lease with the increased rent.  

@Theresa Harris I did tell them in the letter that they have until X to respond and reminded them with a text message the day after it was due back but I did not write that otherwise i would assume they are terminating in the letter. I will add that going forward. thanks for the suggestion

I would not wait.  I would assume they are leaving and send them notice that the lease will not be renewed and start making plans.  You can always stop your work if she reaches out and wants to sign.  But you shouldn't waste time or delay in the legal process of giving her notice that she needs to get out.  

Originally posted by @Linda Thomas :

Good morning all,

I need some help with a question please. I sent my tenant the rent increase letter with the two options, accept the rent increase and renew for one year or vacate by such and such date. The letter was due back to me on 12/4 and i didn't get it back. Yesterday i reached out to her and asked her to kindly get it back to me immediately she responded and said she would send it today which was yesterday but never did. How would you now handle this situation? 

 

Our tenants usually drag their heels on lease renewal so I think that is fairly typical, especially if a rent increase is involved.

We generally have three options, the third is "Month to month" and the monthly rate is higher than the year lease rate. Some tenants pick this option and stay for years. The reality is some people just don't like being blocked into leases.

I wouldn't send them a termination letter or view it as "having consequences". If you are trying to retain the tenant, I would approach it in a more friendly manner. One suggestion is making it easy on them to renew by offering digital signing or letting them text back a photo of the form. We have a check box by each option and a signature field, so it is easy to return. If they don't send it back, we just text them and ask them to send us a photo of it. 

Another suggestion is having a default option if they select nothing. State on the form, if they don't return by X date, that they will default to month-to-month at X rate. I prefer that over defaulting to giving notice, because the higher monthly rate gives them financial incentive to return the form. 

Whatever you do, keep in mind the holidays can be a busy time of year and signing lease renewals isn't tops on anyone's list. If they are a good tenant, don't be nasty about getting the piece of paper back or they may just leave out of spite.