What is a Month to Month Lease?
Unlike traditional leases, a month-to-month lease agreement does not contain a set term for the rental period. Instead, the lease automatically renews every month until one of the parties provides notice of termination. In Massachusetts, landlords and tenants are required to provide at least 30 days’ notice before terminating the lease. When a tenant has occupied a rental unit for less than 12 months, they only need to provide 30 days’ notice. Tenants who have lived in a unit for more than 12 months must give 60 days’ notice prior to vacating.
While month-to-month tenancy offers flexibility to a tenant , there are downsides to this arrangement. Mainly, a tenant can be given termination notice with as little as 30 days to find a new place during the busy summer moving season. Furthermore, some landlords will only enter into month-to-month agreements in order to charge higher rents on a month-to-month basis—and with annual rent increases. Also, many landlords will choose to terminate a month-to-month lease at the first opportunity rather than a traditional lease.
Legal Requirements in MA
In Massachusetts, both landlords and tenants must adhere to state-specific laws when establishing and managing a month-to-month lease agreement, just like with a standard lease. The Massachusetts Consumer Rights Law protects the rights of the tenant and guarantees a habitable environment. In addition, the law requires that landlords act in good faith and retaliating against a tenant or tenant’s guests or cohabitants is prohibited. To ensure legal protections are in effect for tenants, the lease agreement must be detailed enough to describe the rent amount, the space being leased to the tenant, any household rules, how and when rent is to be paid, and what happens if the rent is late. Monthly agreements should also clarify any conditions that would cause the landlord or tenant to terminate the lease. If the tenant does not move into the rental unit within 30 days of the start date of the agreement, the agreement is void, unless the agreement specifies different terms. All changes to the agreement, whether they increase or decrease the protections of the tenant, must be agreed upon by the landlord and the tenant and signed by both parties in writing. If the landlord wishes to raise the rent, he must provide 30 days’ written notice before the rent increase takes effect.
Benefits for Tenants
Advantages of Month-to-Month Tenancy for Tenants in Massachusetts
Choosing a month-to-month rental agreement comes with advantages for the renter in Massachusetts. In addition to flexibility, one of the most important benefits is that they are not tied into any set term. Without a lease date, you could leave with only 30 days’ notice at any time.
For example, if you are offered a job in a new city, you can leave the apartment with the knowledge that your obligation is only 30 days away. In the event of job loss, you are able to move to more affordable housing with advance notice to your landlord. A month-to-month agreement is ideal for people who know their work situation may be changing in the future.
Another benefit of the month-to-month format is the ability to establish a rental rate that may provide you with some leeway, allowing you to negotiate and either get a lower rate or choose a place to live that you want more than an alternative. Be sure to negotiate that the landlord will not raise the rent until after you have lived there for at least 30 days.
If you move to a new area and are unsure whether the location will remain desirable within a year, the month-to-month rental agreement will allow you to easily relocate. Another reason to choose a month-to-month agreement is if you want to move the apartment or house into your own name. Although this is often the responsibility of the landlord, it can be beneficial to offer to do this yourself.
Benefits for Landlords
Leases that are month-to-month give Massachusetts residential landlords a similar level of flexibility in dealing with tenants as their tenants possess. At any point during the tenancy, both the landlord and tenant can terminate the agreement with 30 days’ notice (which can only be given to end on the last day of the tenancy period). This allows the landlord to easily evict the tenant if a problem arises. It also benefits the landlord because s/he can set the terms of tenancy each month and has the power to raise the rent if needed.
A month-to-month tenancy also gives the landlord an opportunity to increase profits. With the real estate market seeing some improvement in recent years, property owners may want to increase the monthly rent. For a month-to-month agreement, this is relatively simple, as the landlord could give the tenant a 30-day notice of the rental increase. The lease would then renew on a month-to-month basis with a higher rent. If the tenant does not have a lease in writing, then the landlord is also welcome to just announce that the rent will be increasing.
When the lease is not fixed-term, a property owner is probably more likely to evict a tenant who has been causing damage to the property or is not paying rent. Under a standard lease, the landlord must first provide the tenant the opportunity to repair the damage or pay the outstanding rent. If the tenant fails to do so, then the landlord can evict him or her from the property through the legal process. If the tenant has only been causing minor problems, the landlord may want to give the tenant a month-to-month lease to allow him or her the opportunity to improve by setting the terms with stricter rules. If the tenant fails to do so, the landlord can legally evict him or her for rules that were clearly explained in the agreement.
Termination and Notice Requirements
The Notice Requirement for a Termination of a Month-to-Month Lease/Tenancy
A one-year lease agreement will end when the one-year anniversary occurs, provided that neither party has given notice of termination, if such notice is required. However, for month-to-month lease agreements, the tenancy is statutorily month-to-month and can be terminated only by giving proper notice to the other party. While we would recommend that such notice be in writing, whether or not this is required will depend upon the terms of your lease. In our experience, this is an issue that a new landlord usually does not know about until it is too late.
The Mechanics of Notice and Termination
Massachusetts General Laws chapter 186, section 12 states:
"Except in those cases provided for in section twelve [dedicated to tenancies at will], any tenancy from month to month…may be terminated by either party by a notice in writing…to quit and to deliver possession, given to the other party and the owners or lessors of the lands in writing…at least thirty days before the day on which such rent is due and at least thirty days before the expiration of the term to be ended by such notice . However, the person giving such notice shall be an inhabitant of the commonwealth, and no person shall give such notice on behalf of another unless he has a power of attorney from him for that purpose duly executed and acknowledged."
In other words, you have to give 30 days notice on or before the day the rent is due and the lease will end 30 days from such date. So, if rent is paid on February 1st and you wish to terminate the lease effective March 31st, you have to provide that notice before the rent is due on March 1, meaning you only have one day to give the notice.
In addition to giving such notice, notice must be given to the owners or lessors of the land as well. Based upon this language, we do not believe that extra notice is required in a month to month agreement. The parties can, of course, agree to a different notice or termination period.
How to Move From Annual to Month to Month Lease
When an annual lease is about to expire, many landlords and tenants wish to continue the relationship on a month-to-month basis. This avoids the hassle of having to negotiate a new lease and the tenant is often willing to pay at least a small premium for a month-to-month lease because it allows the tenant to move with less notice.
While many tenants happily continue the relationship on a month-to-month basis, others wish to live as month-to-month tenants for only a short time. For this reason, the Massachusetts Security Deposit Statute provides specific rules for this situation.
Under M.G.L. c. 186, §15B(4), before a residential dwelling lease that has been in effect for six months or longer expires, the landlord must give the tenant the following information:
The best practice is for the landlord to notify the tenant in writing via certified mail of these rights. Also, regardless of whether the landlord is required to provide this information, the better practice is to provide this information to all tenants when the lease ends.
If the tenant fails to respond to the notice in writing within 30 days and the tenant decides not to renew, the lease will terminate. If, however, the tenant responds in writing within the 30-day period and states that the tenant wishes to continue the tenancy as a month-to-month tenant, leases of less than six months are renewed as month-to-month leases at the same rent. For leases of longer than six months, if the tenant does not agree to the terms set by the landlord for the month-to-month tenancy, the landlord must give the tenant 30 days written notice that the tenancy will terminate under M.G.L. c. 186, §12 at the end of that period. The notice can be provided in writing via certified mail, posted on the building or given directly to the tenant.
The statutory notice at the end of the term can be a blessing and a curse from the landlord’s perspective. On one hand, 30 days’ notice cannot be shortened on its own. Therefore, if the landlord wants the tenant out earlier than the 30-day notice period, the landlord needs other grounds to terminate the tenancy. However, the monthly lease agreement terminates without additional notice at the end of the 30-day period.
On the other hand, where the landlord gave the tenant notice and the tenant did not respond in writing, a landlord could be stuck with a month-to-month tenant unless the landlord provided a different form of notice (e.g. lease ended at the end of each month). In addition, if the landlord and tenant agreed on an annual tenancy before it expired, both sides are bound by the original term. Therefore, the landlord must provide one full rent payment cycle worth of notice before terminating the monthly lease since the lease cannot be terminated before the longer term.
Common Issues and Solutions
Common disputes between a Massachusetts landlord and tenant on a month-to-month lease (or tenancy at will) include the following: Failure to pay rent; Termination of the lease by either party; and What happens when one side wants to sell the property before the lease ends.
Failure to Pay Rent: If the tenant fails to pay the rent then you must wait for the entire month to pass before you can start the eviction process against the tenant. A tenant must pay their rent within one month of the date it is due, and cannot pay "early" in Massachusetts. So if the tenant pays rent on June 15th, you cannot start the eviction until July 31st even though you may have enough to evict the tenant on July 1st.
Termination of the Lease by Either Side: If the Landlord or Tenant wants to terminate this relationship , then that party must giving notice of termination in accordance with the statute. For a month-to-month lease, you must give each other at least thirty (30) days’ notice.
Tenant Selling Property Before Lease Ends: If the tenant sells the property before the end of the lease, it must be done "subject to" the existing tenancy. Now, a landlord has the right to terminate a lease if it has been breached. But a monthly lease has certain special protections where a tenant can usually live out the remainder of their lease regardless of whether the landlord sells the property or not. Having a properly drafted lease is critically important in these situations, as a properly drafted lease can override these protections.
The lesson here is that it is important to review your lease before acting.