LL Has Not Contacted Me For Renewal

Is there a risk that the landlord is waiting until the very end to try to jam you with a new lease at flat rent or an increase, figuring that you will not have time to organize an alternative at that point?

thats tough for me to handicap to be honest. given that im a good tenant i wouldn't think they would do that - i can just as easily move and then they are going to eat a month's rent trying to find a new tenant.

has anyone had luck with a rent renewal when THEY (not the LL) initiated the discussion? negotiations 101 says i should not fire the first shot, but perhaps i am over thinking this with a simple rental.

1) there are other threads on this topic of fairly recent vintage (i.e., weeks or few months). I didn't read them in detail but my impression was that there were good discussions. A search should turn up something

2) my recollection was that negotiations 101 said not to fire the first shot if there is great uncertainty about the actual value of the item (for fear of being way off), but to fire it and put a stake in the ground at your end of the field if a range of value is reasonably known and name of the game is to try to end up as far on your side of half as possible. It seems to me that Manhattan rents, even with the fluctuations of the last 2 years, fall into the "I can but boundaries around a range of reason" category. All that said, I understand the hesitation to open - it just feels risky to show your hand

same with us. are you in my building? ;)

our lease was up July 1 and still no sign of a renewal. we got a good deal last summer so no news is good news to me. we're just keeping quiet, sending our rent check and hoping for the best.

If you have a low rent compared to the rest of the market, keep quiet and send in your check at the end of the month hoping they just cash it. If you have a high rent and should get a reduction, pipe up now: no sense being stuck with a choice of continuing as month-to-month at current rent or being asked to sign a lease at current/higher rent.

In either case, start looking at some alternatives to have in your back pocket. Bluffing can work, but it's a lot easier if you actually have some cards.

A few hundred either way shouldn't make you run out on to the street and spend the next 3 months finding a place dealing with the aggravation, fees, applications, new neighbors, super, noise at night, new address, new commute, packing, finding movers, moving, taking time off from work, new repair requests, and the like.

A big problem is the LL can just give you 30 days and then you have to move. The LL could be advertising your apartment right now and if he gets a better rent, you are out. I would rather know for sure and ask for a new lease.

"A big problem is the LL can just give you 30 days and then you have to move."

I would imagine there's a million things a tenant can do to delay that. Just continue to pay the rent and keep the line of communication open. I'm not saying tenants should generally ignore the term of the lease and give the LL a hard time under regular circumstances, but if the LL is being an @ss, then one can response accordingly.

"I would imagine there's a million things a tenant can do to delay that. Just continue to pay the rent and keep the line of communication open. I'm not saying tenants should generally ignore the term of the lease and give the LL a hard time under regular circumstances, but if the LL is being an @ss, then one can response accordingly."

No.

Oh, you can be an ass -- but that doesn't change the fact that once your lease expires, you're legally out.

Face it, he's just not that into you.

'A few hundred either way shouldn't make you run out on to the street and spend the next 3 months finding a place dealing with the aggravation, fees, applications, new neighbors, super, noise at night, new address, new commute, packing, finding movers, moving, taking time off from work, new repair requests, and the like.'

You made a similar post on another thread. If you are looking to vent, get a therapist.

the previous was to annec.

NYCMatt wrote : "Oh, you can be an ass -- but that doesn't change the fact that once your lease expires, you're legally out."

You mean "legally a month to month tenant," right? Not really the same thing as "out".

i dont think annec is looking to vent...
sounds to me like a landlord/lease manager
trying to convince (interestingly: con-vince)
tenants to stay put; give them discounts honey!

Here's the real question: is there anyone out there who DIDN'T think AnneC is a LL or lease manager? Smacks of desperation....

AnneC, you forget, renters are base people. Most would sell out their mothers for a few hundred a month.

'AnneC, you forget, renters are base people. Most would sell out their mothers for a few hundred a month'

no, we would not. but i can really work on you and your mother for free.

I think postponing is a bad move on the part of an LL and not sure why they would do it. They are heading into the worst months of the year for renting (regardless of how well the year is going). That means that the longer you wait to renegotiate the stronger your hand is.

ugh, bad english.

"... the stronger is the hand you are holding."

I'm with Sunday on this.

Keep in mind that the landlord's upper hand is partially based on perception. Take away their ability to bully you on this by knowing both your rights (read your lease), the realities of a holdover (takes a while to get an eviction in court, they can only get you evicted by going to court), and the realities of the market including what you pay relative to perhaps what other comps are in the building or otherwise.

Any thought as to approaching your neighbors and asking them about the renewal process that happened when they renewed their lease?

"Is there a risk that the landlord is waiting until the very end to try to jam you with a new lease at flat rent or an increase, figuring that you will not have time to organize an alternative at that point?"

Wouldn't this be dumb on his part? Maybe you are planning on leaving, and this way he won't even know.

I have to assume that if you're not getting a lease, he might be wanting you out.

yes 2hott, you should ask your neighbors. I actually knew about our LL's bad habit of delayed renewals far in advance. Asking around could set your mind at ease.

"no, we would not. but i can really work on you and your mother for free."

Funny, jras. You know I was kidding, right?