Q: We leased a comercial space to someone for one year. At less than half ofthe going rate. We thought they were friends!
We sent them a letter stating that the lease was coming due and that we were going to raise the rent.Their lease will expire at the end of this month and we have not heard from them so we assumed they were to be out by the e.o.m. We just received a very nasty letter. stating that we raised the rent illegally, didn't give them enough notice, repairs needed, we were harrasssing them by raising the rent etc. We thought at the end of the year lease a new lease would be written and agreed to or not. Please tell me. Are we obligated to a certain percentage the rent can be raised? Do we have to continue the lease? Did we do something wrong? If they are not out by the first of the month do they have to pay the new rent amount? Thank You
A:
First off, treat every tenant as a tenant, even if you are friends or family.
At the end of the lease term, depending on the terms of the lease, the tenant usually becomes a month-to-month tenant. The landlord can raise the rent on a month-to-month tenant by up to 10% with a 30-day notice. The landlord has to give a 60-day notice if the rent increase is greater than 10%.
At the end of the lease term, the landlord is not obligated to continue the rental. Depending on the terms of the lease, the landlord may not be required to give notice to the tenant to terminate the tenancy, but it is good practice to give notice of non-renewal of the lease.
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