WHEN IS LEASE NOT A LEASE? When it’s a residential lease!

The recent Just Cause and Mandatory Lease Renewal law differentiates between a term lease and a month-to-month rental agreement. If a tenant has consistently signed a term lease, a lease with at least a six-month term, the landlord can give a 60-day notice to vacate at the end of the term without a stated cause. 

If the tenant signs a month-to-month rental agreement, a lease of less than six months or a term lease ends and the tenant remains under a month-to-month rental agreement, the landlord can only terminate the rental for cause! This means the landlord must cite one of the 16 reasons allowed under the law.

The Legislature offered provided one exception. Because this new law went into effect during the moratorium, if a tenant signs a new lease of at least six months within three months of the end of the governor’s eviction moratorium, landlords will have the ability to give a 60-day notice without case at the end of a term lease.  This means that tenant must sign a new lease by September 30^th in order for landlords to retain this option.

We are here to help you and your clients with all aspects of the rental market. Please contact us for further assistance! 

Nothing found herein should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a legal opinion or otherwise engage in the practice of law. You should not rely solely on this information. We encourage our clients to work with a lawyer experienced in commercial and/or residential real estate matters as they can be complicated and confusing