In the case where a tenant over stays their lease after expiration, if the landlord wants this occupant gone, a few things must happen. The landlord must refuse rent money from the tenant, and make the occupant realize that by refusing to leave this can indeed be deemed as trespassing. If the tenant continues to not cooperate with the process, the landlord must then try to evict the tenant. The eviction will then have to most likely go through a holdover proceeding.
Can tenant overstay?
If a landlord chooses to continue accepting rent payments from a holdover occupant after the initial lease expires, many states will give the nod in favor of the tenant as having a tenancy equivalent to however long the rental payment lasts from then on. If the landlord wants to eventually forgo a lease and the occupant pays rent by the month, the landlord must send out a notice to that tenant by a minimum of 30 days prior, or if rent is payed all at once in the format of an annual basis, the notice of leave must be delivered one year prior.
New Lease Term
A landlord can also have the right to a new leasing term. This would mean the landlord can thereby renew the expired lease. Such a decision however, cannot be reversed. When the landlord continues to acceptant rent payments once the initial leasing agreement comes to an end, thus accepting such payment will inadvertently renew this expired lease for a new leasing term. With all this being said, one must note, if a landlord were to take such a measure, the initial leasing contract cannot have any mention of a landlord informing an occupant about any possibility of a new leasing term being renewed in the future. The original agreement must also have no mention of potentially treating the holdover tenant as a trespasser as well as threatening eviction.
Holdover tenant & Legality
Although many individuals tend to think the landlord generally has the upper hand in any leasing agreement via legal procedures, this is not always the case. Many states give the tenant rights in accordance with the law which may be deemed confusing at times, specifically when it comes to a lease expiration in this case. Although the landlord has a good chunk of authority, they must acknowledge nonetheless, the courts will also order them to comply by a set of rules which is not only convenient for the landlord, but the tenant as well. If the landlord wants a tenant out, they must be prepared to go through a process that can very well be time consuming, as this is not a case that can be viewed so black and white. A landlord cannot simply get rid of a tenant right there on the spot. Even if the tenant is at fault, such a process of forcing the occupant out on a legal basis will still take some work.
