How Does a Month-to-Month Lease Work?

Alicia Bodine
The Process

Legal Contract

A month-to-month lease is a legal contract between a landlord and a tenant. A landlord is the person who owns the property that is to be rented out and the tenant is the one doing the renting. The lease must be signed by both parties to be legal. A month-to-month lease states that the renter may leave after one month or the landlord can choose not to renew the lease after one month. If there are no objects from either party the lease automatically renews after each month is over. A month-to-month lease is a legal contract and recognized by a court of law.

Benefits and Disadvantages for the Tenant

A tenant can benefit from a month-to-month lease if he or she doesn't seem to be getting along with the landlord or if they are unhappy with the place. A tenant will also benefit from this arrangement if they only need a house to rent for a short time. An example of this would be if a homeowner sold their house quickly, but wasn't able to settle yet on the house they intend to buy. They may need a temporary place to stay for two or three months. The disadvantages for a tenant month-to-month lease is that the landlord can evict them at the end of any month. That can leave them little or no time to find another place to live.

Benefits and Disadvantages for the Landlord

Landlords can benefit from a month-to-month lease when they end up with tenants that cause trouble or are too noisy. They would then only have to put up with those tenants for one month. They will also be able to evict tenants quickly that don't pay their rent. The disadvantages for a landlord are that the tenant can leave at the end of any month, leaving the landlord without a tenant and the rent money. If it takes a long time to find another tenant, the landlord will be out a lot of money.

Published by Alicia Bodine

I am a single stay at home mom of 2 girls. My youngest has Angelman Syndrome so I had to learn how to work from home. I enjoy writing and using the programs on my blog http://paidtowrite.blogspot.com. Fee...  View profile

  • Landlords can evict troublesome tenants after one month.
  • Tenants can move out after one month if the landlord doesn't fix things or is overbearing.
  • Written leases are key to uphold your case in court.

4 Comments

Post a Comment
  • C.P.11/16/2010

    I mean the month following...keeping my sec. dep.

  • C.P.11/16/2010

    I have been told that a "verbal" month to month lease is ILLEGAL?...Does anyone know what can be done, after leaving, giving written notice, and the landlord has kept my security deposit as rent for the month that I moved out?

  • greg kilker2/27/2009

    Easier said than done,Kinda like freezing water in hell.Better, Growing wings and flying like a bird,,Now refs? law refs? this is quotable,so?What now?

  • JRS11/12/2008

    Good info!

Displaying Comments

To comment, please sign in to your Yahoo! account, or sign up for a new account.