Month-to-Month Rental Agreement Templates Free Pros & Cons Tips

Who Needs a Month-to-Month Rental Agreement 

A month-to-month lease agreement is considered important because it makes it possible for individuals who have life-altering changes to find quick accommodation. The changes could be getting married, planning to purchase your first home, relocating to another city, state or country due to the nature of you work, you work remotely and want to travel and explore, you want to be closer to the best private schools for your children,etc.

Due to short term rentals permitting flexibility and having no repercussion for breaching the lease, we have created a Simple Month-to-Month Rental Agreement Template to make it easier for both landlords and tenants to make a transition from the standard lease agreements.

What you should know about Month-to-Month Rental Agreement

Pros for Landlord

1. Earn more income in peak season!

• A monthly rental agreement provides an opportunity for those property owners/landlords to make more rental profit when the rental season is at its peak. The landlords just have to make sure that they have sent 🔗a letter to notify the tenant of an increase in rentals if they plan to increase the rent. 
• Having Short-term leases also gives the landlord the advantage of charging more rent because they carry a higher risk. The risk originates from the fact that tenants can leave any time after they have given a notice so they can be charged a higher rental to mitigate this risk. 

2. Simplicity and Flexibility of Use

• A month-to-month rental agreement gives the landlord the ability/flexibility to use the property only as it is needed. The rental unit can be rented out for short vacation stays then the landlords can take up residency of the property again whenever they want to , the landlord can use the property as a holiday home and rent it out after their holiday is over, the landlord can draw up new terms for the next tenant, and so forth. 
• Short term rental agreements also allow the landlord to take advantage of the tourism sector. Landlords can make use of platforms such as Airbnb and booking.com to advertise their properties for short term vacation rentals. Vacation rentals are a great way for landlords to make a significant profit because tourists are willing to pay more money on a vacation rental. For most places, the summer season offers the highest chance to make greater profits as the demand for vacation rentals is very high. Cold weather also provides an opportunity for vacation rentals because some tourists prefer the snow for winter sport activities such as skiing. In conclusion, you as a landlord can increase your return on investment if your property is located in a tourist attractive area. 
• A simple month to month rental agreement is also less complicated than a long term lease agreement in terms of cancelation of the agreement, eviction processes, and of course the freedom to use the property however and whenever you want without losing income. 

3. Tax breaks and maintenance of the property

• Month to month or short term rentals offer an opportunity for the owner to pay reduced property taxes. You will have to check with the 🔗IRS (Internal Revenue Service) to read the terms and conditions so that you can take advantage of the tax breaks. 
• Short term rentals help the landlord to keep track of any damages to the property because the tenants are always going in and out of the property. Every time a tenant leaves the premises, the landlord goes to clean the property and can spot any damages quickly and fix it before it becomes an issue. 

4. Addressing difficult tenants

• No reasonable landlord wants to have problematic tenants living on their property. The worst is when the tenants pay their 🔗rent late or do not pay at all. The month to month rental agreement gives the landlord the advantage of evicting difficult tenants. You as the landlord just have to ensure that you issue a 🔗notice of eviction giving the tenant an appropriate time period to find another place to stay. However, the eviction process is more complicated with a long term lease agreement because the landlords need to file with the courts for an eviction process after issuing the eviction notice. 
• A month-to-month rental agreement is also a great way for the landlord to examine the tenant’s candidacy for a long term lease agreement. If the tenant meets your requirements, then the best action to take would be to offer the tenant the opportunity to rent the property in the long term. 

Cons for Landlords

1. Extra cost to find tenants

Like any contractual agreement, the short term rental has additional costs attached to it. You as the landlord may incur transportation costs to travel for viewings, commission costs to pay to agencies (for example Airbnb), paying advertising platforms (such as Realtor.com), additional phone charges, costs to clean the unit before a tenant occupies the property, and any other costs which you may incur in relation to finding a tenant for your unit. 

2. Offseason vacancy

While peak seasons offer the opportunity to earn increased rental incomes, there are times when the market is slower due to a decrease in demand. The disadvantage is that when your property is unoccupied you lose income. That is why you need to strategize adequately before making a short term rental investment decision. We recommend that you research the market properly, and contract professional services for advice only if you want to. Also take note of the desirability of your units’ location. 

3. Uncertain end date

Short term month-to-month rental agreements come with the uncertainty of an end date. State laws require landlords and tenants to give a notice by issuing a 🔗Lease Non-Renewal letter 30 days before vacating the property, and a notice might not even be given for vacation rentals. The problem is that the tenants and landlords can send this notice at any time, therefore disturbing long term decisions. The flexibility to end the short-term rental agreement at any time can have an effect on the individual's personal and professional lifestyles.

How to Make a standard month-to-month lease agreement In an Easy way

Creating a contract is not easy when it comes to legal matters. The best is to use one standard template to reference all the conditions you may need to consider. You can use our simple month to month rental agreement templates to do this. There are only three simple steps to follow:

1. Select our templates.
2. Fill in your information by answering our quick questions.
3. Review and download your Month-to-Month Rental Agreement PDF document, ready to use.

Standard Month To Month Lease Agreement

Edit Month to month rental agreement here

simple month to month rental agreement

Edit basic Month to month rental agreement here

Note

If you do not know the timeline for returning the deposit, check out the deadline for returning the deposit, according to 🔗different states provided by Nolo.com.

What Benefit Can Tenants Have from Using a Rental Agreement Month to Month?

The short term rental agreement has some benefits for tenants as stated below: 

For Flexible Candidates

• This rental contract is perfect for students and remote workers that want to test the waters and see how well they can adjust to their new living environment. Moving to a new city or town can be a stressful experience especially for students that may first want to get used to the environment. Avoiding a long term lease is a wise decision to make because you might not like the neighborhood or the living conditions.Therefore, a short term rental agreement helps you to avoid entering a commitment which will be difficult to get out of. 
• Once the students or remote workers are familiar with the city, they can negotiate a 🔗long-term lease for a better price with the landlord if both parties are on good terms. On the other hand, they can send a notice of intent to vacate and take time to search out other properties during the time in which they have given a notice which is 30 days prior to vacating the property. 
• The tenant can choose the rental period such as the days, weeks, or months which they want to rent the property. This gives the renter an opportunity to explore and live in various places if they have a sense of adventure. 

Furnished property

• The cost of moving into a new property is often minimized because a majority of month-to-month lease agreement properties are typically fully furnished. 
• Most landlords tend to offer furnished apartments or homes to gain a competitive advantage and to appear more appealing to potential renters. This tactic offers an increased ability to charge a higher rental.

House Restrictions

• For short-term living, house restrictions tend to be less restricted than long-term agreements, making a month-to-month contractual rent agreement appealing and the first option of choice for many tenants.
• Furthermore, landlords who need tenants to occupy the property quickly to avoid any loss of income, tend to put fewer restrictions on living in the unit. 
• Last but not least, the rent of a month-to-month contractual rent agreement often includes gas, water, or electric bills, which means the landlord is the one who is responsible for payment of all the bills, not the tenant as opposed to a standard lease agreement. 

The point is that a short term rental agreement is commendable for people with short-term commitments. It benefits both sides as long as they both have a mutual desire to pursue flexibility. However, the downside of the monthly rental agreements is that the rent tends to be higher than the annual leases, and the landlords can vacate the tenants with or without (in terms of vacation rentals) notice before they move.

Conclusion

Finally, the decision is up to you to choose which type of rental you need in order to fit to your financial purpose. Whether it's a long-term lease or month to month lease agreement, you can always use our editable templates and craft your contract by using templatesGo to customize these templates to meet your requirements. We hope you enjoy our post!