Lease Renewals: The 60-Day Playbook That Keeps Good Tenants and Ends Bad Ones Cleanly
The most expensive thing that happens to most rentals is a good tenant leaving because nobody asked them to stay. The lease ends, both sides drift into month-to-month by default, and six months later the tenant finds a place with a dishwasher and gives thirty days. The landlord who started the renewal conversation at day 60 would have kept them for another year at a modest increase.
This is the renewal playbook: a calendar that starts 60 days out, the decision that comes before the offer, the offer itself, and what to do with each of the three answers.
First, the Decision
Before any letter goes out, answer one question honestly: would I approve this tenant if they applied today? Pull the ledger and the maintenance history. A tenant who has paid on time, reported problems early and kept the unit up gets a renewal at a modest increase, and your job is to keep them. A tenant with three late payments, a noise complaint and a stove they broke and did not mention gets a non-renewal — and the timing rules below matter just as much for that.
Non-renewal is not eviction. Declining to renew a fixed-term lease needs no cause in most states, but it needs the notice the lease and the statute require — often 30 or 60 days, and in a growing number of places (California, Oregon, Washington, New Jersey, New York City, Philadelphia and others) a "just cause" reason once a tenant has been in place long enough. Check your state before you decide not to renew.
The Calendar
- Day 90 — check the market. Ten minutes on comparable listings. You want the number before you need it. See pricing a rental with data.
- Day 75 — decide. Renew, and at what rent and term; or non-renew. Check the notice period your state requires for each.
- Day 60 — send the offer (or the non-renewal notice). Sixty days is more than most states require, and that is the point: the tenant has time to decide without pressure, and you have time to list if the answer is no.
- Day 45 — follow up. A friendly nudge if there has been no reply. Most tenants who have not answered simply have not got round to it.
- Day 30 — deadline for the tenant's answer. If it is yes, sign the renewal now. If no, or silence, this is the day you list the unit and schedule showings.
- Day 14 — pre-move-out. If the tenant is leaving: the move-out inspection date, cleaning expectations, forwarding address for the deposit. If staying: nothing to do — the new lease is signed.
- Day 0 — lease ends. New term starts, or keys are returned and the deposit clock starts.
The Offer
Two options is the right number. One reads as a demand; three reads as a puzzle. Offer a 12-month renewal at the rent you want, and a month-to-month option at a premium — the premium makes the 12-month term the obvious choice and prices the flexibility for tenants who genuinely need it.
Hi Devon,
Your lease ends on December 31 and we'd very much like you to stay. Here are two options:
• 12 months from January 1 at $1,650/month (currently $1,600)
• Month-to-month from January 1 at $1,750/month
Nothing else changes. Let us know which you'd prefer by December 1 and we'll send the renewal to sign online. If we don't hear from you by then, the lease will end on December 31 as written and we'll be in touch about the move-out inspection.
Thanks for being a great tenant.
— Harbor Street Properties
The last paragraph is the important one. Silence has to mean something, or a lease that "just ends" becomes a month-to-month tenancy you did not intend, at the old rent, with the tenant able to leave on thirty days' notice in the middle of winter.
How it works in My Rental Spot: renewals are flagged 90 days out on the dashboard; the offer goes to the tenant from the lease with both options; they pick one and sign online; the new rent takes effect on the ledger on day one. See lease management.
The Three Answers
- Yes. Send the renewal that day. Use a full lease or a short renewal addendum that references the original and states the new term, rent and start date — either is fine, but sign something. Update the deposit if the state allows and the rent rose enough to matter.
- Yes, but… A counter on the rent, a request for a repair or a repaint, a different term. This is a negotiation with a tenant you already know pays — trade rather than refuse. Fifty dollars a month is $600 a year; a vacancy is $1,650 plus turnover.
- No, or silence by the deadline. Confirm in writing that the lease ends on its date, list the unit, and start showings with proper entry notice. Do not offer month-to-month at the old rent "to be helpful" unless you want the tenant to leave on their schedule rather than yours.
If the tenant stays past the end date and you accept rent, you have created a month-to-month tenancy in most states — at the old rent, on the old terms. That is fine if you meant it. If you did not, either sign something before day 0 or do not accept the payment.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much notice do I have to give a tenant that I am not renewing?
Whatever the lease says, and at least what the state requires — commonly 30 or 60 days before the end of the term. Some states and cities now require a just-cause reason for non-renewal after a tenant has been in place for a year or more.
What happens if the lease ends and nobody signs anything?
In most states, if the tenant stays and you accept rent, the tenancy continues month-to-month on the old terms. Either side can then end it with the state notice period (usually 30 days). If you want a fixed term or a new rent, sign a renewal before the end date.
Can I raise the deposit at renewal?
If the state cap allows it and the lease or renewal provides for it, yes. Give the tenant the same notice as for any change of terms and issue a new receipt.
Should I offer a two-year lease?
Only at a rent you will still be happy with in year two — and only to a tenant you would sign for two years. A two-year term with an annual escalation written in is the safer version.
Do I need a new lease or can I use a renewal addendum?
Either. An addendum that references the original lease and states the new term, rent and start date is enough. Use a full new lease if your form has changed materially since the original was signed.
Renewals flagged 90 days out
The offer goes from the lease, the tenant signs online, the new rent lands on the ledger on day one.
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