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I'm in NH and my 1-yr lease ended 6m ago. However, I just picked up a cert. letter from my landlord saying along w/a rent increase and proof of renters insurance, I need to re-ennter into another 12 month lease. I was planning on moving after spring. I cannot find these laws googling. Does anyone know if he can legally make me do this (vs. moving in winter), instead of the month by month I was planning on?
I'm in NH and my 1-yr lease ended 6m ago. However, I just picked up a cert. letter from my landlord saying along w/a rent increase and proof of renters insurance, I need to re-enter into another 12 month lease. I was planning on moving after spring. I cannot find these laws googling. Does anyone know if he can legally make me do this (vs. moving in winter), instead of the month by month I was planning on?
Month by month leases are just that. If you want to stay longer than a month then sign a lease. I'm not sure if you can be forced to buy renters insurance but it's a smart thing to have. Most insurance policies for rental properties would not include any of your belongings in the event of fire, flooding, etc. Raising the rent after a year is typical especially if you opted not to renew a year lease.
On the other hand, if you continue you pay your rent and squat on the property by not leaving on your own accord, it would probably take until spring to get you evicted. The wheels of justice turn slow you know.
Negotiate with the landlord by responding to the letter with your proposal to stay for a few more months and agree with the increased rent and buy a short term renters insurance policy. The increased rent will only cost a bit more money. I would not sign the long term lease. Remember this is a business deal and not a personal vendetta. Yet.
Landlords in NH have very few restrictions on their actions. Renters are pretty much at their mercy.
One of the houses I live in, I rent. My lease expired over a year ago. In this marketplace, if you are a good tenant, pay your rent on time, and don't trash the place, most landlords consider it a blessing to have you live there. Most don't want to have negative cash flow on a house sitting empty (to the tune of $4K a month), or try to sell it in this economy as a firesale.
I don't understand the 'proof of renter's insurance', as that insurance protects your stuff, not the landlord's property. Perhaps it has to do with a failure in the house structure, caused by neglect of the landlord (bursting pipes, hot water heater failing, etc). I am no lawyer, so I don't know.
I don't understand the 'proof of renter's insurance', as that insurance protects your stuff, not the landlord's property. Perhaps it has to do with a failure in the house structure, caused by neglect of the landlord (bursting pipes, hot water heater failing, etc). I am no lawyer, so I don't know.
Probably liability, i.e. If someone is injured in the property and the fault is with the renter.
OP: Negotiate with the landlord. They don't want to re-rent in the middle of winter either.
What is strange in this case is that your lease expired 6 mo. ago and just now is the landlord requesting a new lease. Maybe he is afraid you might leave and wants to lock you down. Since I know for a fact that renters have very little protection in NH, the landlord probably can do that. I suggest you contact him and try to negotiate. I do not suggest getting evicted, that'd be really stupid.
Quote:"Probably liability, i.e. If someone is injured in the property and the fault is with the renter."
Possibly, but then the renter is the one taking the risk, not the landlord. Here in NH we don't need to carry car insurance (though personally I think anyone that doesn't is crazy). To be fair, if you don't carry insurance, you have to be able to demonstrate that you have sufficient means to cover yourself. (New Hampshire Statute RSA 264).
I am not sure if it is legal for the landlord to require you to show proof of renter's insurance (again I am not a lawyer), but my landlord did require a credit check to be run on me (which is fair).
Our landlord in Portsmouth did this to us a few years back. We negotiated a shorter term, and ended up staying with family while we waited to find out where we'd get new jobs (post grad school graduation). I think it is up to the landlord. You can also offer to help find a tenant if you move out earlier. If your landlord's name is Nick, I feel your pain...
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