Can you give me advice for how to renegotiate my lease?
Asked by
bookish1 (
13159
)
May 29th, 2013
My lease ends the end of July. I did not renew it because I took a gamble that I would receive a grant to go abroad next year, and I did. My grant permits me to begin my yearlong research trip abroad at the beginning of September. It would be incredibly helpful for me if I could extend my lease until the end of August—this would mean that I would not have to move out and find a place to stay for a month, while also putting most of my worldly goods in storage and preparing to spend a year abroad (which sounds like a logistical nightmare!).
Problem is, all the documentation I’ve received about my lease explicitly states that they do not do month-to-month renewals. The apartment complex is owned by a company in another state, and I have no relationship with any of the management in the office here. One of my friends, who has studied lease law, told me that leases are often more negotiable than they appear on paper, and encouraged me to go talk to the management. He also said that it would make the deal more likely to work if I offer to pay the month’s rent up-front, which I will be able to do.
Do you have any advice for how I should approach this situation with a member of the management? Many thanks in advance. This is the first apartment I’ve lived in on my own and so I’ve not had to navigate these things before.
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
9 Answers
Tell them just like you told us. If worse comes to worst, you can extend your stay in most states by at least a month by forcing the management to begin eviction proceedings against you.
Thank you very much, @WestRiverrat. So just hope that they will be sympathetic and see that this is a solution that would save me an enormous amount of hassle, and they will still get their money up front?
Should I be prepared for them to ask for a higher rent rate if we extend for this final month? They raise the rent every time they ask people to renew leases.
The sooner you contact them to explain the situation the better. If you’ve been a good tenant there shouldn’t be a problem.
Thank you, @flutherother. I’m going over to the office this afternoon; didn’t find out the details of my grant until last Friday, so things have been up in the air for a while.
I agree with above. Just spell it out. Be polite, humble but strong, clear and concise.
Even if they do ask you for more money… isn’t it worth it to not have to move?? I can see them wanting more money if they usually rent to students and will be late on that front by not being able to offer the apartment until September.
Let us know what they say.
@Cupcake: Thank you for your advice.
I laid out the situation as clearly and calmly as I could, and offered to pay one month’s rent up front, but the manager informed me that my apartment is already reserved for someone else in mid-August. I asked if they could move me to another unit for a month, but they are hard and fast about their rule for no monthly leases. It helps ensure their income flow, I suppose.
Corporate bastards. Oh well, I’ll be in France in two months and they won’t. I just have a lot of hustling to do beforehand.
@bookish1 I’ll bet that they get most of their tenants in the summer… not fall, so your timing may just not be convenient for them (plus they already have a replacement for you).
That stinks… but now you have some more experience advocating for yourself!
A lot depends on the rental situation where you live. We are in a college town and are heavily dependent on student renters and they are constrained by the school year. Almost everyone insists on one year leases because if you have a vacant unit when school starts it is likely to stay vacant until the next fall. Same with six month leases; those who want them want them for the fall months and after December it will be vacant again until August. We also have a fairly high occupancy rate throughout the town so putting people in is not a big problem. If they have a similar situation it would not be cost effective for them to let you stay a couple of months longer.
Then again, it could just be some corporate policy handed down from on high with no regards for the actual situation in a particular area.
@rojo: Excellent point. I had thought of that. I think it’s a combination of the two factors… All the decisions are made by the owners in another state, but this is indeed a college town and they expect that renters will only be looking for housing during the school year.
@Cupcake: Thank you. I’ll try to think of it that way.
Answer this question 
This question is in the General Section. Responses must be helpful and on-topic.
Composing members:
0
