{"id":15773,"date":"2022-07-20T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-20T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.renthop.com\/content-manager\/?p=15773"},"modified":"2023-07-22T11:36:28","modified_gmt":"2023-07-22T15:36:28","slug":"pros-cons-of-signing-a-longer-lease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.renthop.com\/blog\/pros-cons-of-signing-a-longer-lease\/","title":{"rendered":"The Benefits and Drawbacks of Signing a Longer Lease"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rental lease agreements between landlords and tenants outline each party\u2019s responsibilities and have a duration length. Tenants may rent an apartment for a month, half a year, a year, or longer. During the touring process, a real estate agent<\/a> typically discloses how long the landlord wishes to sign a lease, and renters can attempt to negotiate<\/a> the lease length. Prospective tenants must determine how long of a lease they wish to sign to ensure they find their ideal match. Landlords and tenants may each have their reasons for wishing to sign or avoid a multi-year lease agreement.<\/p>\n

How Long are Leases for Apartments?<\/h2>\n

A standard lease<\/a> lasts for twelve months, and this is common across most rental markets nationwide. One year is the standard length for a typical lease, as this allows landlords to revisit the agreement in year-long intervals to either get tenants to move out or increase the rent. From a tenant\u2019s side, one year is an appropriate amount of time to turn the apartment into a comfortable living situation and still move to another apartment if the situation does not work out.<\/p>\n

Month to Month vs. Yearly Lease<\/h3>\n

While leases are not flexible once they are signed, the lease duration period can change depending on the landlord’s or tenants’ wishes. Prospective renters can negotiate a lease duration to be shorter or longer than twelve months. Some landlords may also offer a month-to-month lease, allowing both parties to move on in a shorter timeline.<\/p>\n

In most cases, renters will have more success negotiating for a longer lease than a shorter agreement, as landlords do not want to turn the apartment over in a smaller timeline than they originally anticipated.<\/p>\n

Why Would a Landlord Offer a Longer Lease?<\/h2>\n

Whenever a tenant\u2019s lease expires, and they move out of their apartment, the landlord is responsible for filling their vacant unit. This can be time-consuming and expensive, especially if the real estate market is in poor shape. The landlord will have to advertise the unit<\/a>, arrange showings, sort through tenant applications<\/a>, draw up new lease agreements, and then clean and repaint the unit to make it presentable. All the while, they will simultaneously be losing income from the rental unit as it sits unoccupied. Longer leases allow landlords to avoid this yearly inconvenience and its associated expenses.<\/p>\n

Until the mid-1800s, nearly every residential lease in New York City<\/a> expired simultaneously on May 1st<\/a> of each year. Today, lease expirations are far more spread out but still heavily concentrated in the summer months. Landlords generally prefer that tenants\u2019 leases end between May and October in order to take advantage of the booming market of summer renters looking for a new home. Thus, if you\u2019re starting a new lease beginning in the winter<\/a>, it\u2019s not uncommon for landlords to request a sixteen- to eighteen-month lease ending in the summer.<\/p>\n

Finally, if a landlord already has a desirable tenant who reliably pays rent on time, receives no complaints from neighbors, and makes relatively few maintenance requests, the landlord may wonder where they should give a multi-year tenant lease for a longer period rather than risk taking on an unknown tenant for their next rental period.<\/p>\n

Learn more:<\/p>\n