If you’re a tenant looking for convenience and flexibility, a month-to-month lease might be a good fit for you. This type of lease commits you to only a month at a time and allows you to cancel the lease at any point. There’s no loss of security deposit and no other penalties for canceling your lease as long as you give your landlord 30 days advance notice of your intent to move. A month-to-month lease can be attractive when you plan to live in an area for less than 12 months, buy a house in the near future, or if your future plans are uncertain. The downside is that rent is typically higher than a longer-term lease. Still considering a month-to-month lease agreement? Here’s what you need to know:
What is a month-to-month lease?
A month-to-month rental agreement is a lease you can terminate at any time with proper notice. Depending on your state, the required notice period could be as short as 30 days or as long as 90 days. Month-to-month leases typically renew automatically at the end of each leasing period. Month-to-month leases don’t necessarily need to be short-term. While they are nice if your situation requires short-term housing, a month-to-month lease can last years. However, because of the monthly renewal, a landlord could also ask you to leave at any time with the proper notice.
A month-to-month lease is sometimes called “estate at will” or an “at-will” agreement.
A month-to-month rental agreement could be helpful in several scenarios
- A long-term lease agreement can include a clause where it defaults to a month-to-month option after the original agreement ends. This clause comes into play when the tenant decides not to sign a new lease but does not want to move immediately. In this case, the lease will spell out the terms of the month-to-month arrangement, such as the new rental rate that will take effect and at what date the lease becomes month-to-month.
- A landlord may implement a month-to-month rental agreement when there is…