Before you pack your moving boxes, check your lease; it may not need to be renewed.
Landlord-tenant laws come from federal, state and local legislative bodies. They are different between states and, in states, between cities. Whether a landlord has the right not to renew a lease, or more to the point, to end or change the terms of a tenancy, depends on the landlord's motivations and where the property is located. As a general rule, though, in most places a landlord does have the right not to renew a lease, with or without good reason.
Federal Law
There are two key federal laws affecting residential tenancies: one is the Fair Housing Act and the other is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The aim of both acts is to prevent discrimination, based on characteristics like race, religion and familial status for the Fair Housing Act, and on disability for the ADA. Under these laws, a landlord may not refuse to renew a lease based on issues like you having or adopting children, you moving in with your partner before marriage or your request to build a wheelchair ramp if you are disabled. Proving motivation for an action, however, is sometimes difficult if the landlord has not written or told you why he refuses to renew your lease.
State Laws
In only two states -- New Jersey and New Hampshire -- are landlords prohibited from evicting any tenant without a just cause, such as failure to pay rent. In Connecticut a landlord cannot evict a senior or elderly tenant without just cause. In Massachusetts a landlord cannot evict a tenant after foreclosure without just cause. A landlord in these states is not required to sign a new lease or lease renewal but cannot evict the protected tenant without a cause specifically listed in the state legislation. In some states, such as California, state law specifically prevents landlords from retaliating against tenants with acts such as rent raises, failing to renew a lease or eviction as a result of the tenant's complaints against the landlord.
Local Laws
Some cities, notably in New York, California, New Jersey and Maryland, have local rent control ordinances. Rent control limits how much and how often landlords can raise rent. Virtually all rent control ordinances include a prohibition against evictions without just cause. A few cities have just cause eviction requirements without rent control. These rules do not require a landlord to renew a lease, but prevent her from ending a tenancy. If you had a lease in a rent controlled or just cause city, it expired and the landlord refused to renew it, you would have what is known as a month-to-month tenancy. The landlord could only raise rent according to the rent control ordinance and could not evict you unless you violate a significant lease provision or rule spelled out in the rent control or just cause ordinance.
Lease Type
Keep in mind that some leases do not have to be renewed to remain in force, even in cities without rent control and just cause eviction laws. It is not uncommon for a fixed-term lease to automatically become a month-to-month agreement upon expiration. An explanation of this change is included in the lease itself. Also, even for leases that specifically state tenancy termination occurs at the end of the lease, the tenancy will nonetheless continue if the landlord accepts rent from you.
Tags: just cause, rent control, renew lease, without just, without just cause
