So your rental lease is coming up on the end date and your property manager just notified you about the opportunity to renew your lease for another term - let's look at your options when receiving proposed renewal terms so you can decide to sign a new lease or not renew. 


TABLE OF CONTENTS


Lease Renewal Notification


As the end of your rental lease approaches, your property manager is responsible for determining if the lease is eligible for renewal and what the terms of that renewal will be. If your property manager decides to offer lease renewal terms, residents will receive a notification via email that will direct them to the resident portal to view the proposed lease terms. 


Follow the link in the renewal email notification to log into the resident portal.


Note: your email notification will look different based on your property manager.



View Renewal Terms


After logging into the resident portal, there will be a new section in the navigation on the left called Renewal. To view the renewal terms sent by your property manager, click Renewal Terms, and you will be directed to a new page outlining the different lease terms offered by your property manager and corresponding fees associated with renting the home. 




Select Your Lease Terms


When you're ready to review the renewal terms sent by your property manager, first choose the lease term length. Your property manager may have offered multiple renewal lengths that have different fees which you can compare and determine the length you prefer. 


Click the Lease Terms dropdown to see the length options and make a selection to automatically populate the remaining renewal terms. 



Review Lease Names & Pets


After selecting a lease term, it is recommended all residents thoroughly review the details of the renewal terms because the information on this page will used to generate a new rental lease if the terms are accepted. 



Review all renewal terms carefully to ensure correct information on the rental lease!



The top section of the renewal terms contain important details for the lease:


  1. Lessee Names - the names of adult residents who will be residing in the home AND responsible for signing the renewal lease should be listed. Contact your property manager if resident names need to be updated using the Provide Feedback section.
  2. Pets - if there are any pets listed at the home from the original home, they will be automatically added to this section. 
  3. Lease Start Date - confirm the start date of your next lease which should be the day after your current lease ends
  4. Year-Over-Year (YoY) Escalator - if you have a lease term option that extends beyond one year, your property manager may set an automatic percentage increase in rent. This locks in your rent price after the first year in multi-year leases. 
  5. Lease Terms - to view the terms of your renewal lease, select the lease length from the dropdown




Review Lease Fees


Based on the lease length selected, the corresponding lease fees will automatically adjust and should be reviewed by each resident to confirm the details are acceptable:


  1. Monthly Fees - the monthly fees, e.g. monthly rent, will be listed and all costs that mst be paid monthly will be totaled
  2. One-Time Fees - if there are costs that must be paid once when renewing a lease, e.g. pet fee, they will be listed and total in this section
  3. Promotions - if the property manager is offering a promotion with a renewal lease , the details of the special will be described in this section
  4. Utilities - all utilities associated with the rental home are listed along with who is responsible for creating an account with the utility provider to ensure the utility is available at the home. If the property manager is responsible, the costs will be charged back in the monthly fees otherwise residents are responsible for paying the utility provider. 


Any questions related to fees should be sent to your property manager. If any of the fees are incorrect or adjustments are needed, residents can Provide Feedback on the renewal terms to share with the property manager.





Renewal Decision


Once a resident has reviewed the renewal terms from the property manager, they have to provide a decision on whether they want to renew and have the following response options:


  1. Accept Renewal
  2. Provide Feedback
  3. Decline Renewal




Accept Renewal 


If the renewal terms provided by the property manager are acceptable and you are ready to sign a new rental lease for the length selected, click Accept at the bottom of the term page. You will be prompted to confirm your acceptance since a new lease document will be created based on the terms listed and will be sent to each resident electronically via email (see Signing a Lease). 


Clicking Accept automatically generates a new rental lease that is sent to all residents listed on the renewal. Make sure all renewal terms are correct and acceptable before clicking Accept.




Provide Feedback on Renewal Terms


If changes are needed in the renewal terms because information is wrong or a change is needed, try providing feedback directly to your property manager. This is a good opportunity to share comments with your property manager and make changes prior to accepting the renewal. 


Clicking Provide Feedback will open a popup with a message box where residents can provide their comments. Once feedback is sent to the property manager, the terms will no longer be viewable to the resident until the property manager sends updated renewal terms. 




Decline Renewal 


Even if a resident has been offered a lease renewal, the terms do not have to be accepted and the resident can decide to vacate the home at the end of their current lease. To decline the renewal terms from your property managers, click Decline and provide reasoning before submitting. This will notify the property manager of your intent to not renew your lease and they will be reaching to discuss next steps for moving out of the home.