State Specific Question About: INDIANA (IN)

In Indiana, the lease states that "unto Landlord upon termination or expiration of this Lease.

9. NOTICE OF INTENT TO SURRENDER: Any other provision of this lease to the contrary notwithstanding, at least thirty (30) days prior to the normal expiration of the term of this Lease as noted under the heading TERM OF LEASE above, Tenant shall give written notice to Landlord of Tenant’s intention to surrender the residence at the expiration of the Lease term. If said written notice is not timely given, the Tenant shall become a month-to-month tenant as defined by applicable Indiana law, and all provisions of this Lease will remain in full force and effect, unless this Lease is extended or renewed for a specific term by written agreement of Landlord and Tenant.

Why would you not want to??? I personally think it's far more advantageous to the LL than to the tenant. If your tenant doesn't want to be there, you don't WANT him there.

If he's being a pain, then it's bye-bye PITA.

Read carefully: "unless this Lease is extended or renewed for a specific term by written agreement of Landlord and Tenant"

The way I read this, the TENANT has a right to convert the lease to a month-to-month. But the Landlord has the right to terminate a month-to-month or raise the rent or change the terms of the lese, upon proper notice.

So if you give 30 day notice tomorrow, then it is effective on August 8.

Personally, I'd tell the tenant he can either go MTM or sign a lease. If he goes MTM, he can expect an increase in 30 days (or the first legal time allowed in your state).

In this particular case, I'd send him a notice that the tenancy won't be renewed and that he must return possession by ________. My property, my rules. Once a tenant tries to tell me how things are going to work, (s)he will find out exactly how things will work.

He's wrong, Claire.

The "unless the Lease is extended or renewed" clause saves you on that one. You have the option of extending the Lease term or the tenant, BY DEFAULT, becomes MTM. The tenant does not exercise the option to become month to month.

However, for clarity, I would insert "at Landlord's discretion" after "Tenant shall become month to month".

I would allow him to go month to month but explain to him that M2M means that rent could go up with 30 days notice. The tenant is wanting the M2M because his circumstances may be changing. Is he a PITA? If not I would keep him as long as I could and give him and you the flexibility of a M2M. He's been there 2 years already he must be a decent tenant.

There is a little bit of a hassle of finding a new tenant is you already have a good one. You may have to spend money to paint and pretty things up when he leaves. If he stays you don't have to do that.

Your lease as written is giving the tenant the option of doing nothing so he can go month to month.

ACCORDING TO YOUR LEASE - "Tenant shall give written notice to Landlord of TENANT'S intention to surrender the residence at the expiration of the Lease term."

YOUR TENANT DID NOT GIVE WRITTEN NOTICE AS IN NEXT SENTENCE "If said written notice is not timely given, the Tenant shall become a month-to-month tenant as defined by applicable Indiana law, and all provisions of this Lease will remain in full force and effect,".......

AND HERE IS THE RUB - ....unless this Lease is extended or renewed for a specific term by written agreement of Landlord and Tenant. IT APPEARS LANDLORD AND TENANT ARE NOT IN AGREEMENT AT THIS POINT. There is an impasse - no meeting of the minds.

Is the "UNLESS..." wording of the lease, part of Indiana law?? If not, I would take out reference to the tenant being in agreement and make it a landlord only written agreement. But that means you would be losing a tenant because the tenant would not agree to another year's lease.

When does "no" mean "no"??? We're not trying to be mean, it's just I will have a harder time trying to rent in September than August! I spoke with my tenant and told him 1 year lease or to move on.....this is his responce:

On clause 9 on the lease agreement it says, if a notice to vacate is not

given, the tenant will become a month-to-month tenant until the lease is

renewed.

As I had mentioned there is a possibility that I would need to move to

Minneapolis, however will not know before the end of the month. Based on

clause 9, I wanted to request whether you could hold off on the renewed

lease until end of the month. I will assure you that if I need to move

out I will give you minimum 30 days notice and will pay the rent the same as this year after August 7. We have been living there for 2 years now and

I hope you can hold off on the new lease until the end of the month to

help us out. Please let me know.

Anyways, attached is the signed lease for next year and I have mailed

the originals too.

Not to be mean, but you've created part of the problem here by not being proactive and then enforcing your conditions in the first place.

Next time, if you require a one year lease, and don't want to do M2M, about 90 days before your lease expires you need to send a notice to the tenant that says "Sign another year long lease. If I don't get another signed year long lease from you within 30 days, I will give you officially 60 days (or whatever the time period is in your state) notice that I will not be renewing your lease and you'll need to find a new place to live. You'll be expected out at noon on (lease end date)."

You apparently waited until the lease ended (or almost) to bring this up, and now the tenant has you over a barrel. If they will not sign the new lease, then you need to give them the appropriate notice to move for M2M tenants in your state, and ask them to move. That's the earliest you could get them out unless you offer them some other incentive to leave earlier.

In this situation, even if you got them to sign another lease, do you really think that if they end up needing to move to Minneapolis, they'd pay you for the rest of the lease? I bet the answer is no. You'd still have to try to rerent it in September. At best you get one more month's rent from the SD, but only if you can't rerent right away, and in that case, you'd still be looking for a tenant in October.

By the way...if you have a 2 year tenant that pays on time and actually reads and understands his lease....and he wants to move to Minneapolis? Send him to me. :)