Advice - to sign a lease or not?

west side kid

We're renting a house we like. However, we're thinking about buying in the next year - not immediately and there's (I'd guess) only a 50% chance we'll buy somewhere.

We've been in our current place for a few years and have been very good tenants - rent on time, keep place very well, not demanding at all.

To date we have signed a 12 month lease each year. Our landlord wanted this.

After you've rented a place for 1 year - how common is it to sign a new lease every year? Or do people go month to month?

Also, does anyone have any advice on this? On a negotiating strategy for our landlord?

odds_on

You are not required to sign a new Fixed Term lease each year. However, they offer more security than a Part 4 lease as they are difficult to break or can be a hassle to "assign". Furthermore, the landlord cannot evict you unless you are in breach of your obligations.

If you do not sign a new lease you automatically have a Part 4 lease and are covered under the RTA 2004. However, the landlord can ask you to leave (evict) only under certain conditions two of which are if he wants to sell the property or if he wants the property for his own or a close family member's use.

On the other hand, with a Part 4 lease, you are free to leave at any time upon giving the landlord written notice and the appropriate notice period which depends on how long you have been in occupation (for a tenant the max period is 56 days)

edellc

it is quite common to sign a new lease every year, if you dont it goes to a part 4 tenancy agreement which most landlords dont like as it kinda favours the tenant

if your not sure weather you are going to buy or not then why would you not sign a new lease, if you dont sign a new lease it may force the landlord to say as you are not signing a new lease then the tenancy is over therefore you have to leave which makes you have to rent somewhere new where you will have to sign a new lease for a year anyway along with the costs and hassle of moving?

buying a house takes time if you sign a lease now or say beginning of june, and if your not thinking of maybe buying until say jan next year then why would you not sign a new lease, also just because you say you may be buying at the beginning of next year doesnt mean you will find what your looking for before your lease runs out in june 2013, so for what its worth i would sign the lease if you do end up buying before its up you can always look for tenants to take over the tenancy or have a chat with your landlord and explain the situation they are human too and some have hearts (only some mind you )

odds_on

edellc wrote: »

it is quite common to sign a new lease every year, if you dont it goes to a part 4 tenancy agreement which most landlords dont like as it kinda favours the tenant

if your not sure weather you are going to buy or not then why would you not sign a new lease, if you dont sign a new lease it may force the landlord to say as you are not signing a new lease then the tenancy is over therefore you have to leave which makes you have to rent somewhere new where you will have to sign a new lease for a year anyway along with the costs and hassle of moving?

buying a house takes time if you sign a lease now or say beginning of june, and if your not thinking of maybe buying until say jan next year then why would you not sign a new lease, also just because you say you may be buying at the beginning of next year doesnt mean you will find what your looking for before your lease runs out in june 2013, so for what its worth i would sign the lease if you do end up buying before its up you can always look for tenants to take over the tenancy or have a chat with your landlord and explain the situation they are human too and some have hearts (only some mind you )

Unfortunately, a landlord CANNOT just ask a tenant to "leave" because he won't sign a new fixed term lease. He doesn't have to sign a new lease because he has a Part 4 lease since the start of the sixth month of occupation.
As I said in my previous post, a landlord can only evict a tenant with a Part 4 lease under certain conditions apart from breach of the terms of the lease. The two main possibilities are if the landlord wants to sell the property or if he requires the property either for his own use or that of a family member. Furthermore, if a landlord states one of these reasons and does not abide by it, the tenant is permitted to return and the landlord is liable to a substantial fine by the PRTB.

P_1

You could try to negotiate a break clause in the next lease you sign if going Part 4 doesn't suit you OP.

Say you can break the lease every 3 months with 2 month's notice or something like that?

My advice though would be to stick with a Part 4 (i.e. don't sign any more leases) as this way gives you more security in my opinion.

mess_it

Yeah definitely try and ask for a break agreement or something. Remember its a tenants market at the moment, the landlord needs you a lot more than you need them and there are tons of other places to rent these days, just check daft