# Month to Month lease with 30 days notification for cancel **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 17, 2013, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/month-to-month-lease-with-30-days-notification-for-cancel/669052 "2013-09-17T14:59:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2013, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/month-to-month-lease-with-30-days-notification-for-cancel/669052/21 "2013-09-18T23:25:57Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > I think that what usually happens is that the landlord doesn’t contact the tenant at all to inquire whether he plans on moving or staying. Why? Because if the tenant doesn’t give 30 days notice, he pockets another month’s rent. (See shiftless’ post) Probably true, but less sinister motives are possible (or even likely) - that’s how it happened the last time I had a one-year lease convert to month-to-month. Our lease was actually pretty clear instead of being riddled with contradictions like the OP’s, but neither party was interested in terminating our tenancy so there was no formal “Are you intending to stay?” inquiry (on his part) or corresponding announcement (on ours). _As specified in the lease_, our tenancy automatically became month-to-month absent one of the parties terminating it with proper notice\*. If we’d been planning to leave at the one year mark, it would definitely have been our responsibility to communicate that to the landlord sufficiently in advance of that date - and we were well aware of this (unlike **shiftless** ’s son, apparently). As I recall, this automatic conversion to month-to-month was in pretty big, bold type near the top of the rental agreement - it wasn’t buried in the fine print where the landlord could hope we wouldn’t notice it. - - If both parties had agreed, another fixed-term lease could have been signed. No discussions along these lines were held. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/month-to-month-lease-with-30-days-notification-for-cancel/669052/22 "2013-09-20T11:16:24Z")
> [@brad\_d](#): > > Probably true, but less sinister motives are possible (or even likely) - that’s how it happened the last time I had a one-year lease convert to month-to-month. Well, yes, although I don’t think it’s particularly \*sinister \*to expect 30 days’ notice when someone plans to vacate their premises. Just good business, because it shifts the burden to the tenant. And it explains why some landlords aren’t knocking on doors and asking what the tenant’s plan is, because he’s covered either way. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/month-to-month-lease-with-30-days-notification-for-cancel/669052/23 "2013-09-20T15:44:41Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > Well, yes, although I don’t think it’s particularly \*sinister \*to expect 30 days’ notice when someone plans to vacate their premises. Just good business, because it shifts the burden to the tenant. And it explains why some landlords aren’t knocking on doors and asking what the tenant’s plan is, because he’s covered either way. I don’t think it’s nefarious to cover one’s own butt, either - I think we’re in agreement. The lease is typically written such that tenancy will continue indefinitely until one party or the other (with proper notice) takes action to end it - and that generally suits both the renter and the landlord just fine. I suppose it would be possible to construct a fixed-term lease agreement that automatically terminated (i.e., the renter has to leave) unless both parties specifically agreed to extend the tenancy, but I’ve never come across one. (Although we’ve already heard in this thread about at least one unfortunate tenant who mistakenly _thought_ he’d entered such a lease!) Maybe those are more common in commercial leases - I’m not sure. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/month-to-month-lease-with-30-days-notification-for-cancel/669052/24 "2013-09-20T16:51:50Z")
> [@brad\_d](#): > > I suppose it would be possible to construct a fixed-term lease agreement that automatically terminated (i.e., the renter has to leave) unless both parties specifically agreed to extend the tenancy, but I’ve never come across one. (Although we’ve already heard in this thread about at least one unfortunate tenant who mistakenly _thought_ he’d entered such a lease!) Maybe those are more common in commercial leases - I’m not sure. I used to think all leases terminated (i.e., the renter has to leave) at the end and that those types that turned into month-to-month were a rare breed. Looking back over the places my sons have rented I believe now that the difference is apartments vs house rentals. The houses my kids have rented had language about allowing the house to be shown, when they could move in/out, that kind of thing. Heck, the houses I rented eons ago were like that. As the end of the lease approached, the owner would inquire if they/I wanted to do a new lease or when would be a good time to show the house. The apartment was the only place with the month-to-month conversion and that tripped us up. Live and learn. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/month-to-month-lease-with-30-days-notification-for-cancel/669052/25 "2013-09-20T19:03:17Z")
A very long story short, my landlord/roommate flipped her shit. She started saying that she was now uncomfortable with me living there, her brother was coming to stay with us, and she was going to have me out in 5 days. I installed an actual lock on my door and I was woken up at 2 in the morning by noises that sounded like someone trying to unlock the door (it used to be a fake lock that opened with a screw driver). I yelled, jumped out of bed, opened the door, and found her in the hallway and her brother just inside of her room. Brother confronted me, I closed and locked my door, he started pounding on it, and I called the cops. I moved out to a hotel the next afternoon. She refunded rent, my deposit, and paid me $350 for an early termination of the lease. That’s not going to be enough to cover my expenses and I’m mulling legal action. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/month-to-month-lease-with-30-days-notification-for-cancel/669052/26 "2013-09-20T20:32:14Z")
> [@treis](#): > > She refunded rent, my deposit, and paid me $350 for an early termination of the lease. That’s not going to be enough to cover my expenses and I’m mulling legal action. Well, good luck finding a new place. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/month-to-month-lease-with-30-days-notification-for-cancel/669052/27 "2013-09-20T22:01:55Z")
> [@treis](#): > > She refunded rent, my deposit, and paid me $350 for an early termination of the lease. That’s not going to be enough to cover my expenses and I’m mulling legal action. Wow, she’s batshit crazy. I might try to get a tenant’s advocacy group on the phone, because the circumstances seem pretty complicated. She basically forced you out under threat/duress, and did not go through proper eviction proceedings; but while she violated your lease/the law by kicking you out early with insufficient notice, your accepting the early termination amount might constitute your acceptance of a verbal agreement of the “new terms” (her kicking you out). So, good luck. I’d at least ask someone more knowledgeable in this area. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/month-to-month-lease-with-30-days-notification-for-cancel/669052.md?page=1)