Question for landlords, would you be ok with your tenant after several years asked for a 6 month lease instead of a year?

[Tenant84]

I'm due to renew my lease but would really like to ask for a 6 month lease for a few reasons.
I've been a good tenant , no problems, and have lived there for a few years.
So just want to ask as a landlord , how would you react to this? Or is not that big a deal?

I think a lot of landlords would value a good in situ tenant over a longer lease with a new unknown tenant plus potentially more fees to pay to get them.

However would it mean you have rent reviews more often?

I think it's really normal to ask for a 6 month break clause. No problem at all

I may even renew it after 6 months again for another 6 months but my life is in a bit of transition at the moment so another year is just a bit too long to tie myself into

@Alicewinn good to know, is it better to ask for a 6 month lease? Or a break clause?

@Tenant84 , I’m a landlord. My husband and I frequently offer our tenants a rolling contract after their initial 12 months. This means that they can give us one month’s notice they intend to end the contract. We must give our tenants two month’s notice however we always reassure them that we have no intention of doing so. You could potentially ask for a rolling contract too.

@Lovepeaceunderstanding that would be amazing, I would much prefer a rolling contract, just worried that he might be annoyed if I ask for this. I feel like a 6 month one sounds better. My landlord only has to give me one months notice to leave , not 2 months unfortunately

You’re within your rights to go onto a rolling contract

@Brightandbubly I would like to ask but just worried about their reaction if I ask for a rolling contract and worried they would just terminate my lease

I thought most tenancies became rolling contracts. Have you actually read your contract thoroughly? I appreciate this sounds obvious, but sometimes the obvious things are the ones we don’t consider first!

@WinterMorn I've read my contract, it does become a rolling contract after the 12 months but they usually get in touch with me before the contract ends to ask if I want to renew it for another 12 months

Well, in that case surely all you have to do is say ‘no thanks’ as you are happy for it to shift to rolling?

I thought all tenancy’s were 2 months notice from a landlord now, are you in England?

@WinterMorn oh really ? I just assumed they wouldn't be happy for me to do a rolling contract, I will definitely ask

@Tenant84 , I don’t think in all my years as a landlord I’ve ever been in a contract with a tenant where I only had to give them one month’s notice. That doesn’t sound right to me. Essentially when the original contact ends we offer our tenants a choice of a rolling or a further year’s contract. I’m getting a bit miffed by all the shitty landlords I hear about here. If the rolling contract is better for you, you ask for that. Good luck. 🙏🏻

@Lovepeaceunderstanding I'm not in England , I have checked online and where I am, it's 4 weeks

I work for a letting agency and organise renewals. I would say better to ask for a 12 month tenancy agreement with a break clause than a 6 month tenancy agreement. The reason being is 6 months comes around quickly and before you know it your landlord will be having to send out a new agreement for signing which is a hassle. You can either ask for a fixed break clause at 6 months (either party would have to give notice by month 4 to vacate by month 6) or an open 2 month break clause (either party could give 2 months notice at any point during the 12 month term). As others have suggested you could also ask to go onto a Periodic Tenancy whereby the tenancy continues on the same terms month to month until you as the tenant give 1 months notice to quit or your landlord gives 2 months notice. I personally don't like Periodic Tenancies but that's from a landlord perspective of only being given 1 months notice. Hope this helps

@Lovepeaceunderstanding thank you for the advice ☺️

I'm a LL and think it would be pretty unfair to not offer the 6 month after being a good tenant, so I would do whatever I could to help. I'd hope for an equally good tenant next but that's my problem, not theirs.

@Sparkle0410 thanks very much for letting me know about the other options, for a 6 month break clause, do I have to give 2 months notice? I thought it was 4 weeks , just the same notice as I have to give currently?

@DiscoBeat thanks for your perspective, how would feel if the tenant asked for a rolling contract after the 12 months?

@Tenant84 , my pleasure. My final thought for you is that it’s not all one way traffic. Your landlord incurs fees to find a new tenant so you have bargaining power over future rent increases.
When we bought our first property, a very long time ago I, innocently thought that (we only have one bedroom properties) people rented temporarily. I realise now how removed from reality I was. I don’t feel particularly great about being a landlord and given my time again I probably wouldn’t go down this rout. Since my husband and I are landlords we do our best to treat our tenants with dignity. Our properties are regularly maintained and any issues promptly dealt with. Sorry for the ramble. X

Are you in Scotland? They can’t end your tenancy for wanting 6 months instead of 12 if so, they can only do it for significant rent arrears, to sell it or to live in it.