Do I need to re-new the lease?

kingtut

I moved into a rental property a year ago and the lease is almost up.
I was always under the impression that after a 1 year lease it was not necessary to renew the lease and that I could continue leaving there outside of a lease.

The agency is currently looking for me to renew my lease which is the reason I am asking? If someone could clarify I would appreciate it. It's possible I have my facts mixed up

shruikan2553

You are in part 4 tenancy so no need for a lease. Something to be careful of is after the year they can up the rent so if you are paying 900 a month now and sign another lease at 900 you're safe for a year. If you dont sign another lease, they can decide to increase it.

kingtut

shruikan2553 wrote: »

You are in part 4 tenancy so no need for a lease. Something to be careful of is after the year they can up the rent so if you are paying 900 a month now and sign another lease at 900 you're safe for a year. If you dont sign another lease, they can decide to increase it.

What is a part 4 tenancy if you don't mind me asking.
They already agreed that the rent would not be increased.

If I don't have an 'active' lease does it mean I could be kicked out with minimal notice?

Nekarsulm

Hi Kingtut, just run a search in this forum for the phrase "part 4 tenancy", lots of info here already.

Nino Brown

I was in the same situation, I just signed another lease, because rents are going up everywhere, so I wanted to lock it in for another year, but if you think you might want to move within a year don't sign, it depends on your situation.

kingtut

Nekarsulm wrote: »

Hi Kingtut, just run a search in this forum for the phrase "part 4 tenancy", lots of info here already.

Cheers I'll do that, thanks

Nino Brown wrote: »

I was in the same situation, I just signed another lease, because rents are going up everywhere, so I wanted to lock it in for another year, but if you think you might want to move within a year don't sign, it depends on your situation.

So basically a lease is a way of guaranteeing fixed rent for the period of the lease, sounds good to me. THanks

odds_on

kingtut wrote: »

What is a part 4 tenancy if you don't mind me asking.
They already agreed that the rent would not be increased.

If I don't have an 'active' lease does it mean I could be kicked out with minimal notice?

Yes, you have an active lease. You acquired the right to remain in the property once you had been living there for 6 months. This is called a Part 4 tenancy because it is covered by Part 4 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004.

However, a Part 4 tenancy is not as secure as a fixed term tenancy as the landlord has six grounds or reasons which he can use to evict a tenant. These include: if the LL intends to sell the property; if the LL requires the property for his own use (or that of a close relative). With a fixed term lease, usually the landlord cannot use these grounds and the tenant is safe from eviction (excepting breach of the lease agreement.

The disadvantage for the tenant with a fixed term lease is that if he has to move and has to break the lease. However, the law allows a tenant to assign the remainder of the lease to someone else whom the LL has the right to vet according to his referencing checks etc. The tenant must cover the cost of finding the replacement tenant.

debabyjesus

You could always negotiate a reduction in rent for signing another fixed lease, might work if you're in a low demand area. You're on a part 4 now regardless but signing another lease will lock you in for the full term of the lease. I like the freedom of not being bound by a fixed term so just sent the landlord a part 4 notice and didn't sign the lease they sent after 1st year was up, he was fine with that after I explained what a part 4 tenancy was! Its fine for me as its very unlikely they will try raise the rent for the near future.