It's a good question if a landlord can force a lease renewal on a tenant in a 3 unit and over building. I don't know. The "grounds for removal" section of the state code doesn't address refusing to sign but paying a reasonable rent increase.

I DO know it's an ridiculous thing to force on the landlords part IMO. We let all tenants who want to go month to month after the first year. With 8 rentals it really does nothing for us to know that a particular tenant MIGHT be giving us notice next month. 30 days is 30 days whether at the end of a lease or month to month. But I guess we're not control freaks.

We've found being flexible comes back at us. We've often managed to rent a vacancy in good condition with no lost month with the outgoing tenant's good will & cooperation.

I don't know about the stuff that Heights linked into as I have not read it.

Separately, you do not have a right to be a holdover tenant. If when your landlord presents you with your new lease you tell him you want to go month to month and if he refuses your counter offer then you have to move out. You just can't automatically convert it to a month to month unilaterally. Alternatively, you could sign the one year lease and then break it when you know you're going to move. Keep in mind you may very well be on the hook for the remaining months of the lease or until the landlord finds a replacement tenant, assuming he reasonably attempts to mitigates.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010 ... lowing_students_to_a.html

http://www.nj.com/news/local/index.ss ... schools_want_parents.html

http://www.state.nj.us/education/finance/transportation/faq.htm

You can relax and stay where you are. Now you can send your public school pupil to what ever school in N.J. suits your fancy. If you want public busing though you may have to pay.

Xerxes is basically right. In NJ, expired leases automatically convert to month-to-month tenancy under the same terms IF both parties continue to perform. If you pay your rent and the landlord accepts the payment, you're month-to-month and each must give 30 days notice to terminate.

Most landlords like to know what's going on, and get worried only when tenants are uncommunicative. If you talk to them, chances are good they'll be ok with your month-to-month plan.

Breaking a lease is not usually such a thing to be feared. There's no penalty to you if the landlord rents the apartment, and they must make reasonable efforts to do so once you give notice. You can give more than 30 days notice to help work that out. You can also help yourself out if you find a replacement tenant.

This is not legal advice - consult an attorney before you rely on it.

The vast majority of landlords prefer one year leases for a host of reasons. Most notably you have some sense of when you may have to start looking for a new tenant and what your rent roll is going to be for a set period of time. Even in a good rental market like the present it could be a bit of a pain to look for a tenant. For many landlords, the rental income is necessary to paying the mortgage. There are certainly instances when a landlord may negotiate with a tenant to go from a one year lease to a month to month. As has been commented, in those instances the rent typically goes up. In this market I would probably not agree to let a tenant go month to month and ask they move out before the current lease expires. The rental market has clearly heated up in Jersey City and there are plenty of propsective tenants looking for places. Of course there may be some exceptional reason.

Quote:

Yakov Smirnov, you are hysterical!

It might just be easier to sign the lease and break it when you are ready to. NJ landlord-tenant law is very favorable to the tenant.

An option is to stay without signing a lease. He can throw you out or accept your payment. If he does the latter, you are on a month-to-month tenancy.
It's a risk.

I believe this is correct.

A lot depends on your likelihood and the timing of your move. If you are moving next August, then sign the lease and at worst eat next September and October's rent.

Another option is to ask him for a six month lease for which you will pay more.

Keep in mind if you go month to month, the rent is usually higher. When I was renting at the Gotham in 2003, I had to go month to month for a few months before I bought a condo and I think the rent was about 25% higher, but I only had to give one month notice.

One option is to negotiate with your landlord and ask for a month-to-month lease. You can also offer to give him 30 or 60 days notice before you intend to move, cooperate with requests to show your unit to replacement tenants and offer to pay an extra month's rent if he's unable to re-rent during that 30 - 60 days.

In Soviet Russia, leases renew you.

I think Brewster's your guy to ask since he's a landlord.

Most landlord's just need a fixed commitment. If you cannot commit to a one-year renewal, ask them what can they work with. I'd guess most private landlords would be happy with a 3-month notice so long as you don't mess them around with your rent and leave it in a good state.

Bottom line though - it's a contract between you and your landlord. If they insist on a yearly contract, there's not much you can do. You can check whether you can sub-let mid-contract. You're still on the hook for the full year though. Other than that, you'll have to honor the contract, or move.

If you are in a really nice place, I'd offer a 3-month notice, plus a 1 month rent early termination fee. And make it to the real owner not the property manager.

Remember - it really is all negiotable - but don't lowball your landlord - they have bills to pay. And your not going to find a month-to-month place - they don't exist.

I would assume he could if you intend to continue living there.

No, but he can ask you to move out with 30 days notice. I'm not sure why he would do so, however, unless you are paying a way below-market rent.

Hello all,

Hopefully, someone will be able to answer this question. I figure I can call a city office on Monday, but perhaps someone here can help?

Here's my dilemma: I like the apartment I'm currently living in. However, I'll need to move sometime before next September because I'd like to be in a different school zone. The problem is that my current lease ends this November, and my landlord is notorious for wanting tenants to renew their leases for another year.

I haven't talked to the landlord yet, but I've heard now from two tenants who've moved out in the past few months that they tried negotiating to no avail.

Does NJ law say I can go month-to-month? Does it depend on the number of units, meaning smaller homes are treated differently?

Thanks in advance!