All Topics / Help Needed! / Tenant want to stay on month to month basis

Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)
  • Profile photo of Melb InvesterMelb Invester
    Participant
    @melbinvester1
    Join Date: 2014
    Post Count: 38

    H All,

    What do you do if this situation?

    MI

    Profile photo of Jamie MooreJamie Moore
    Participant
    @jamie-m
    Join Date: 2010
    Post Count: 5,069

    Hiya

    You either agree to it or ask them to sign a fixed agreement.

    Cheers

    Jamie

    Jamie Moore | Pass Go Home Loans Pty Ltd
    http://www.passgo.com.au
    Email Me | Phone Me

    Mortgage Broker assisting clients Australia wide Email: [email protected]

    Profile photo of RedwoodRedwood
    Participant
    @redwood
    Join Date: 2013
    Post Count: 340

    H All,

    What do you do if this situation?

    MI

    MI, You couldn’t disagree with Jamie here. It depends….more info would assist.

    Cheers, Ivan

    Redwood | REDWOOD | SMSF | PROPERTY | FINANCE
    http://redwoodadvisory.com.au
    Email Me | Phone Me

    SMSF - PROPERTY INVESTMENT - WEALTH CREATION AND FINANCE SOLUTIONS

    Profile photo of DwightDwight
    Participant
    @bigvman
    Join Date: 2002
    Post Count: 42

    The answer depends on you.

    Are you happy with the tenant? Do they pay the rent on time?

    Is it easy to find a new tenant or is their a glut of properties.

    I own several rentals, some local, some interstate, some overseas and I need to rely on the input of my rental manager on the ground.

    Many of my tenants move on to month to month arrangements once their initial 6-12 month tenancy expires.

    Cheers,

    Dwight

    Dwight

    Cashflow Positive Investor

    Profile photo of Shiny_Suit_ManShiny_Suit_Man
    Participant
    @shiny_suit_man
    Join Date: 2012
    Post Count: 54

    I had this same thing happen in Victoria in my IP. At the end of the day, apparently they can switch to a month-month in vic automatically however you can not continue the lease after a month and they will either have to sign a lease or find somewhere else to live. At the end of the day, are they good tenants and would you rather them stay than have someone else? Or what is the risk of long periods of vacancy?
    My problem was the owner of the real estate managing my property had put is nephew in my house, so he was told all sorts of little things he could get away with. I was happy with them staying month-month, although its not 1st preference, until the rent starting coming all over the place at which point i said either sign a 6 month minimum lease or get out. My property manager told me i was a little unreasonable but at the end of the day i treat my IP as a business and i have other things to worry about than to chase my rent which was being ignored due to the nature of the tenants.
    My property manager has since improved 150% after a few encouraging words on what kind of a service I am paying for and after riding them for a bit they realised i wasn’t joking and things have improved tenfold. Needless to say, said property manager will actually be getting his christmas gift this year which he went without last year. :-)

    Good Luck.

    Profile photo of thecrestthecrest
    Participant
    @thecrest
    Join Date: 2004
    Post Count: 992

    In NSW leases there are a few ways to inhabit premises. Fixed term lease where the tenant must stay for that whole period and then vacate or if vacating early (breaking the lease agreement) then the tenant must pay the costs involved to change tenants during that period.
    Or, that fixed term lease has a clause that allows the tenant to stay there after the fixed term has expired on a month to month basis. Usually if a tenant wants to stay there but only on a month to month basis, it means they are not considering staying there long term and they are considering moving. You can confirm this by offering them a 6 or 12 month fixed lease, if they refuse you know they will move.
    Talk to your PM (not Tony Abbott) your property manager for their opinion about availability of replacement tenants at this time. If you are self managing, check the local area agents for the number of vacancies. Is there some reason your tenant might want to move ? Ask the tenant in writing if there are any urgent maintenance issues.
    Good luck
    Cheers
    thecrest

    thecrest | Tony Neale - Statewide Motel Brokers
    http://www.statewidemotelbrokers.com.au
    Email Me | Phone Me

    selling motels in NSW

    Profile photo of Jacqui MiddletonJacqui Middleton
    Participant
    @jacm
    Join Date: 2009
    Post Count: 2,539

    Hi there,

    Since your userid is “Melb Invester”, I am assuming the property is in Victoria.

    When a fixed term lease expires, you can either ask them to sign a new fixed term lease, or allow it to lapse to a month-to-month basis.

    One big problem is that you are not allowed to force them to sign a new fixed term lease. A tidy way of dealing with it is to explain that for insurance reasons, all your tenancies need to be on fixed term leases (not all insurers will cover rental default unless the tenancy is on a fixed term lease.)

    The month-to-month thing a nuisance, because your obligations as a landlord, and notice periods you have to adhere to when giving tenant notice to vacate remain the same, whereas the tenant enjoys the ability to bail out with only 28 days notice. This would be quite inconvenient if the tenant decided to move out during a quiet time of the year, so you might prefer to insist on fixed term leases.

    Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
    http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
    Email Me | Phone Me

    VIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.

    Profile photo of Shiny_Suit_ManShiny_Suit_Man
    Participant
    @shiny_suit_man
    Join Date: 2012
    Post Count: 54

    Another thing you could try is when it comes time to discuss a lease is to put the rent up to compensate for the ‘risk’ involved with your tenants not being on a longer term lease. I ended up doing this with my tenants, my agent said it was time to put the rent up and i suggested that if the tenants want to sign a longer lease i would be more than happy to keep the rent at the same price. However they could stick around month by month at an increased cost to them.

    Some food for thought…

    Profile photo of CatalystCatalyst
    Participant
    @catalyst
    Join Date: 2008
    Post Count: 1,404

    Yes. The advantage is that you can put the rent up when you like (given the approriate notice of course).

    Profile photo of Kinnon BellKinnon Bell
    Participant
    @kinnon
    Join Date: 2014
    Post Count: 151

    Have they explained why they’re wanting to go month by month? Are they looking to leave in the near future?

    Are you looking to borrow in the near future? Not having a fixed term lease in place *may* impact a loan application.

    Also check your insurance policy as some insurers don’t like month by month leases.

    Kinnon Bell | Kinetic Funding
    http://www.kineticfunding.com.au
    Email Me | Phone Me

    Mortgage & Personal Loan Broker based in Cairns and Melbourne but servicing clients Australia wide.

Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.