Key takeaways:
- Month-to-month leases offer flexibility, allowing renters to move or stay put with minimal commitment, making them ideal for uncertain or short-term living situations.
- These leases tend to be more expensive, as landlords pass along the higher costs and risks associated with short-term rentals.
- Landlords can raise the rent or terminate a month-to-month lease with 30 to 90 days’ notice depending on tenancy duration, meaning these types of rentals provide less stability for renters.
- Month-to-month options are limited in inventory and can be hard to come by, so renters may need to consider alternatives like sublets or short-term rentals.
Looking for an apartment in New York City, but not ready to sign a year lease? Short-term rentals can be found in the Big Apple. The shortest option may be the least understood, and the hardest to come by: a month-to-month lease. This is an arrangement between a landlord and tenant in which the lease can be terminated or extended by either party on a month-by-month basis. These leases come with significant benefits for renters, but also have downsides. We asked experts to break down the pros and cons of a month-to-month lease to see if it’s right for you.
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Pros of a month-to-month lease
Month-to-month leases are perfect for tenants who are unsure about their future living situation. “It’s a great way to check out a neighborhood or building without a long-term commitment. It also allows for flexibility to perfectly time your next move,” explains Honda Jayathilake, licensed real estate salesperson with Douglas Elliman. “When you find a better deal, you can leave within the agreed notice period.” That flexibility is a significant win for renters who are still searching for their perfect pad.
And thanks to the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA) of 2019, some of the risks previously associated with these not-so-set-in-stone agreements no longer apply. The HSTPA “granted sweeping changes to protect renters,” says Martin Meltzer, partner at real estate law firm Belkin Burden Goldman, LLP. Among those changes is HSTPA Section 226-C, which outlines how much lead time a landlord must give a tenant when terminating the lease. “For market-rate tenants [vs. rent-stabilized ones], a landlord must serve either 30, 60, or 90 days’ notice before the end of term, depending on how long they’ve lived in the unit,” explains Meltzer. Even month-to-month renters are guaranteed at least 30 days of notice before a landlord can begin the process of removing them from the unit.
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Cons of a month-to-month lease
Before you try to find a month-to-month lease, consider a few potential snags:
- Higher cost: “Usually, short-term lease options are expensive,” says Jayathilake. For landlords, advertising and preparing month-to-month apartments is time-consuming and expensive, and those costs are often passed on to the renter.
- Less security: What works in favor of the tenant can easily be flipped in favor of the landlord. With month-to-month arrangements, landlords can evict tenants or raise the rent with 30 to 90 days’ notice depending on how long the tenant has lived there. Under HSTPA Section 226-C, landlords must provide 30 days of notice for tenancy <1 year, 60 days for 1–2 years, or 90 days for 2+ years. “You may be in a busy season at work or traveling, and suddenly you get notice to vacate,” says Jayathilake. “This could be very inconvenient and could also come at a time during the height of the market, so you’d be searching in a less than ideal time.”
- Low inventory: Since monthly leases are more challenging to manage for landlords, you won’t find a ton of them around the city. “Owners don’t like doing them for the most part because it gives the renter flexibility to leave at any time,” explains Meltzer.
How to find a month-to-month lease in NYC
Renters looking to enter a new space on a month-to-month lease will likely have challenges. “Month-to-month is more common after the first term (typically 12 months) expires,” explains Jayathilake.
“Rather than renew for a set term, the tenant and landlord agree to a month-to-month arrangement. Signing a month-to-month lease from the start is pretty uncommon because most buildings do not allow short-term rentals less than 3 to 6 months.”
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Weighing the pros and cons
If your future — as in next month — plans are up in the air, a month-to-month lease could make sense, understanding the expenses will likely be higher. (An excellent first step: determining how much rent you can afford.) But if you plan on remaining in one place for a year or longer, a fixed-term lease of a year or longer is usually the way to go.
Meltzer points out that there are other ways to find a temporary unit. Looking on Airbnb or VRBO, or finding a sublet on Facebook or Craigslist, is a convenient option if you plan on being in a spot for only one month. And for those looking to rent for more than one month (but less than a year), a short-term rental (including furnished ones) often provides housing security for a more extended period.
Looking for a rental in NYC?
If you’re ready to sign a yearly lease, the following articles will help you find your dream rental.
