Landlord & Tenant

Do you prefer a month-to-month or a term lease or a residential tenancy? Each has its pluses and minuses. The month-to-month enables landlords to use their most powerful tool to get rid of a bad tenant, the 30-day or 60-day no-cause termination. The term lease offers at least the perception of stability and probably does encourage good tenants to stay. On the other hand, the bad tenant is still going to disappear in the middle of the night, or worse, the landlord might get stuck with them and have to rely on a fact intensive termination for cause. As a lawyer who primarily represents landlords, I generally prefer month-to-month, but that’s because I deal with bad tenants on a regular basis. While a thorough background check really is a necessity for any potential tenant, make sure to take extra care with anyone you plan to give a lease term.