All Forum Posts by: Melanie Thomas

There are two main arguments about this. One side says it is best to let them go month-to-month so you can simply non-renew at any month if there is a problem. The other side says that a signed lease gives you *some* knowledge that the tenant will stay for the remainder of the lease.
Here's my strategy:
I have a 12 month lease that states that rent will increase 3-5% at the landlord's discretion when the initial lease term ends. The 3-5% is deliberate, so that I can raise rent in an even dollar amount, such as $50/month. A month before the initial term expires, my PM talks to the tenant and offers them to renew for a year for a $25 monthly discount, thereby raising rent $25. Each tenant is treated in the same way in this manner ans the process is explained up-front, though the amounts might be different due to their base rent being different.
In this way, I have a solid bit of intel whether the tenant will stay for another year (signed the new lease) or is looking to move soon (they didn't sign).