How Does a Month to Month Lease Work for Me?

When looking into places to live, you might find various kinds of rental agreements offered for apartments you are considering. Lease agreement terms can vary depending on your location, and month-to-month leases are frequently provided for the same property if you do not want a long-term lease that lasts for a year or more. It can be hard to decide which arrangement will serve you best if you are considering moving to a new location.

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The most significant difference between month-to-month lease agreements and annual lease agreements is that a month-to-month lease will have different terms in some cases. You will be able to break this lease off at the end of each month if you wish rather than being locked into the lease for a whole year. The terms of the lease overall will likely be the same, though.

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If you want to learn more about how a month-to-month lease works, read on!

What Are Month to Month Leases?

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A month-to-month lease can be broken at the end of each month. This can be done either by the landlord or the tenant. You will have more flexibility with a month-to-month agreement which can be nice if you have just moved to a new place and don’t want to enter into a long-term rental agreement.

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Month-to-month lease contracts are typically an option in locations with student populations or younger people renting in the area. Landlords know that lease agreement terms that are not flexible will lead to problems with getting tenants into these properties. Your lease expiration date on a month-to-month lease might be mid-month or at the end of the month.

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If you are moving into a new town as a student or do not know if you can continue to afford the monthly rent at the rental property long term, a month-to-month lease might be the perfect choice for your needs. You will need to remember that you will still likely need to provide the first and last month’s rent and follow the usual rental contract rules and regulations for your month-to-month lease.

What Does a Lease Agreement Guarantee?

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These documents contain specific components, no matter what lease agreement you have signed. These promises make sure that renters and landlords have the rights they need to protect their interests in the case of disputes or disagreements.

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A month-to-month rental agreement will often provide you with all of the terms that both you and the landlord must abide by when terminating a lease or when a disagreement of some kind takes place. A rental agreement should also include the following: 

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1. The names of all tenants living at the property

2. The terms of the residency

3. When payments are due each month

4. The amount of the rent payment each month

5. Whether or not the first and last month’s rent will be due to secure the property

6. Information about breaking the contract or converting to a long term lease 

7. Repairs and maintenance information for tenants

8. Restrictions to activities

9. Information about pets that are allowed to live on the property

10. Information about subletting and occupancy limitations

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Every lease agreement includes these details. If they are missing, you should not sign the rental agreement provided. Even though you are renting on a month-to-month lease, your landlord should still provide you with a legal and correct rental agreement before you secure the property for you and your family or your pets.

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Benefits of Month to Month Leases

Month-to-month lease agreements offer tenants some benefits that are not available when renting for a year at a time. These benefits can make it easy to decide to rent month to month rather than signing a year-long lease.

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1. The Tenant Can break a Month to Month Lease

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If you have just moved into the area or are thinking that you might want to upgrade to a bigger house or apartment after getting started at a job, a month-to-month lease can make it easy for you to move on when you are ready. Month-to-month agreements are also a common preference for college students or traveling nurses and professionals who will not stay long in an area. The flexibility of these leases is one of their key benefits overall.

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2. Lease Automatically Renews

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Unlike annual leases, your month-to-month lease will renew automatically unless you provide notice. What does this mean for you? Never sign a new lease contract again unless you decide to move out and find a new place to live. Month-to-month leases benefit those who want to use a simple option while shopping for a home. An opportunity like this is ideal for individuals just passing through a city. Being spared all of the paperwork that goes with a rental agreement each time you want to renew is a nice benefit of this renting method.

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3. Subletting Not Necessary

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One of the most complicated parts of dealing with long-term lease period agreements is that you might have to find a subletter if you need to leave for a while for work, vacation, or school. You will not be able to move up the lease’s termination for most annual leases, so you will have to find an excellent tenant to take over for you for a while in these cases. This is not an issue with month-to-month rental arrangements since you can move out when you are ready to head out on new adventures or relocate.

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4. Easy to Pay Rent

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Most of these month-to-month rental agreements allow for various ways to pay rent, and they are frequently really flexible. Some people can even Venmo or PayPal the money to their landlord each month. This can make your tenancy much less stressful, and you likely won’t have to deliver a check or pay upfront for six months of a lease at a time, as with some longer-term leases.

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A Month-to-Month Rental Is Very Flexible with Very Few Drawbacks. 

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There are many great reasons to consider a month-to-month rental agreement over a long-term lease. Being able to relocate rapidly if you need to move to a new place or break your lease with ease is a significant benefit of the month-to-month tenancy agreement. You will also be able to pay with ease, and your landlord will likely have fewer rules and regulations for the property. 

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Make sure that you do not fall for handshake leasing deals and that you read the fine print about how to end your lease. You should also watch out for hidden fees, restrictions that are not fair, and issues related to parking or access that will not work for your needs. 

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The flexibility of these rental contracts is far superior to most long-term agreements and can be converted into long-term leases if you wish to stay for the near future in your rental. The monthly rental agreement is not available in every location, but if you live in a college town or a place with lots of young people moving in and out each year, you should have no trouble finding a month-to-month rental arrangement for your needs. Where do you find these short-term leases?

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Rentlingo can help you to find the perfect month-to-month lease for your needs. There is no better site to help guide your selection process with our simplistic system and easy functionality. Finding the perfect month-to-month rental is easy when you use Rentlingo for your search!

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