Month To Month Rental Agreement Template

We’ve worked closely with legal experts to pull together a simple month-to-month rental agreement (PDF and Word) to secure more monthly leases while saving you and headaches.

Free Month-To-Month Rental Agreements Sample

We’ve worked closely with legal experts to pull together a simple month-to-month rental agreement (PDF and Word) to secure more monthly leases while saving you and headaches.

What’s in this template?

Click below to download our free month-to-month rental agreement

What is a month-to-month rental agreement?

Renting or leasing is where a landlord makes a property (or part of a property) available to occupy by a tenant(s) for an agreed length in exchange for a fee.

Many rental agreements are for a fixed length ranging from three months too many years at a time. Long-term leases give landlords security for future income, while it provides tenants with certainty that they’ll have the next residence.

However, there’s another typical lease structure where the property is rented temporarily monthly—meaning that tenants can are not bound to occupy and pay rent beyond a month at a time.

A month-to-month rental agreement is a legally binding contract between landlord and tenants detailing the terms and conditions of the monthly tenancy.

DISCLAIMER: We are not lawyers or a law firm and we do not provide legal, business or tax advice. We recommend you consult a lawyer or other appropriate professional before using any templates or agreements from this website.

Get access to our free Month-to-Month Lease Agreement Template

Now that you understand the benefits of using a monthly tenancy agreement, we’re confident our template will make leasing property accessible and approachable in your dealings.

Click below to download our free template

When to use a monthly rental agreement contract

Monthly tenant agreements are particularly handy if you have a desirable property and are looking to make some extra short-term income. And with the rise of platforms like Airbnb, consumers are much more open to temporary accommodation.

But perhaps the most common use-case for a month-to-month rental contract comes at the end of a fixed-term lease. When a lease ends, landlords have three options:

Sign a new lease with your current tenants
Re-advertise for a new rent with new tenants
Offer a month-to-month contract for existing comments

The third option is a standard solution as it gives your current tenants who you already know and trust an opportunity to stay on without feeling restricted. This can quite often lead to long-term tenancies despite being structured as something more temporary.

Best practices when using your month-to-month rental agreement template

We’ve identified three best practices when it comes to maximizing the use of your monthly tenancy contract. Let’s look at some examples below.

How to handle late monthly payments

Whether your lease agreement is long-term or monthly, there needs to be a procedure for addressing late rent payments. This process is particularly important for month-to-month contracts as there’s no guarantee for future income.

A penalty fee incentivizes tenants to pay rent on time and limits follow-up and potential disputes regarding your relationship.

The first thing you need to determine is your penalty amount. How much you charge is at your discretion; however, it’s quite common for landlords to charge 5% of the monthly rent. Alternatively, you could charge a flat fee.

Who's responsible for utilities?

Monthly leases are no different from long-term agreements in that responsibility for the properties utilities is entirely negotiable.

Sometimes landlords are happy to accept a higher monthly rent, including the internet, water, heating, and electricity. But it’s more common that landlords require tenants to take on management and payment of utilities as part of their tenancy.

Due to the temporary nature of monthly rent agreements, you’ll find that tenants expect the landlord to cover most, if not all, utility costs. This is understandable because if a tenant is only going to occupy a property for a couple of months, it’s not worthwhile to enter utility contracts and pay connection fees.

This scenario is, of course, based on signing new leases with new tenants. If you’re offering a monthly rent contract to existing long-term tenants, they’ll likely already be responsible for utilities, so nothing will change in this instance.

Point of contact for property maintenance

Like any rental agreement, it needs to be clear what maintenance duties tenants and landlords are responsible for, respectively.

It’s common for landlords to cover maintenance costs related to fixing the property from natural wear and tear. This could be things like a leaking bathroom, new roofing, or plumbing.

Meanwhile, tenants are generally responsible for any task that involve up keeping the property based on their use. Examples include maintaining gardens, keeping the house clean, replacing the carpet, etc.

Again, maintenance responsibilities are not black and white and can be negotiated in your monthly agreement.

Get access to our free Month-to-Month Lease Agreement Template

Now that you understand the benefits of using a monthly tenancy agreement, we’re confident our template will make leasing property accessible and approachable in your dealings.

Click below to download our free template

Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ about Month-To-Month Rental Agreements

Do leases automatically go month-to-month after a fixed term?

By default, once a tenant reaches the end of their fixed-term lease, the tenancy will go into a periodic or monthly rental. However, this is dependent on your state laws.
It’s always a good idea to draw up a new contract, whether it’s long-term or monthly, to ensure all parties are adequately protected when it comes to leasing compliance.

Is a 30-day notice required on a month-to-month lease?

Generally speaking, tenants and are required to provide landlords with 30 days’ notice before terminating a monthly lease. Conversely, landlords need to give tenants at least 30 days’ notice before ending the rental.
Even though 30 days is considered the industry standard, you can adjust your notice period to your preference as long as your tenant gives you consent by signing your agreement.

Do I really need a month-to-month rental agreement?

A signed monthly rental agreement is one of the most crucial steps to a successful outcome for tenants and landlords when leasing a property.
An email or phone call can form the basis of an agreement, a signed contract is legally binding, thus holding all parties accountable to what they agreed upon.
Also, having a month-to-month rental agreement template ensures parties don’t miss any relevant terms and conditions before signing.

Can I modify your month-to-month lease agreement template?

We recognize that our template may need to be modified to add inclusions or clauses for tenants. That’s why we’ve made our form available in Word so you can edit the document to your needs.

document preview

Month To Month Rental Agreement

Parties

– This Month to Month Rental Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the “Agreement”) is entered into on ______________ (the “Effective Date”), by and between __________________________, with an address of ______________ (hereinafter referred to as the “Landlord”) and ______________ with an address of ______________ (hereinafter referred to as the “Tenant”) (collectively referred to as the “Parties”).

Consideration

The Tenant hereby agrees to pay the Landlord the amount of money as mentioned in this Agreement to lease the property owned by the Landlord on a month to month basis.

Term

– This Agreement shall be effective on the date of signing this Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the “Effective Date”) and will commence on a month-to-month basis.

– Upon the end of the term of the Agreement, this Agreement will not be automatically renewed for a new term unless both Parties consent to the matter.

Premises, Use And Occupancy

– The premises that is to be rented by the Landlord is located at ______________.

– The premises is only to be used for residential purposes and may only be occupied by the registered occupants enlisted below:

___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________

Costs And Payment

– The monthly rent to be paid by the Tenant to the Landlord is ______________. It is to be paid by the Tenant before the first day of every month whereas the first rent payment is due on ______________.

– The method of payment preferred by both parties is ______________.

– In case of late payments made by the Tenant, the Landlord is entitled to subject a ______________ fine as late fee.

– Prior to taking the occupancy of the premises, the Tenant will pay the Landlord an amount of ______________ as a security deposit to cover the cost of any damages suffered by the premises and cleaning. Such security deposit will be returned to the Tenant upon the end of this Agreement in case the premises is left in the same condition as prior to the occupancy.

Utilities

– The Tenant hereby agrees to be responsible for the following utilities and/or services:

___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________

– Whereas the Landlord also agrees to be responsible for the following utilities and/or services:

___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________

Maintenance And Repairs

– Hereby, the Parties agree that the following maintenance and repairs will be the responsibility of the Tenant.

___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________

– Hereby, the Parties agree that the following maintenance and repairs will be the responsibility of the Landlord:

___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________

Termination

– This Agreement may be terminated in case the following occurs:

Immediately in case one of the Parties breaches this Agreement.
At any given time by providing a written notice to the other party ______________ days prior to terminating the Agreement.

Abandonment And The Right To Enter

– In any case the Tenant abandons the premises during the term of this Agreement, the Landlord will be entitled to enter the premises by any means without facing any liability and the Landlord may terminate this Agreement.

– The Landlord is entitled to enter the premises to inspect or repair the premises.

Dispute Resolution

– Any dispute or difference whatsoever arising out of or in connection with this Agreement shall be submitted to ______________ (Arbitration/mediation/negotiation) in accordance with, and subject to the laws of ______________.

Governing Law

– This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of ______________.

Pets

– The Parties agree that the Tenant will not keep any pets on the premises without priorly obtaining a written consent from the Landlord.

Severability

– In an event where any provision of this Agreement is found to be void and unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, then the remaining provisions will remain to be enforced in accordance with the Parties’ intention.

Entire Agreement

– This Agreement contains the entire agreement and understanding among the Parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof, and supersedes all prior agreements, understandings, inducements and conditions, express or implied, oral or written, of any nature whatsoever with respect to the subject matter hereof. The express terms hereof control and supersede any course of performance and/or usage of the trade inconsistent with any of the terms hereof.

Amendments

– The Parties agree that any amendments made to this Agreement must be in writing where they must be signed by both Parties to this Agreement.

– As such, any amendments made by the Parties will be applied to this Agreement.

Signature And Date

– The Parties hereby agree to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement and such is demonstrated throughout by their signatures below:

Tenant

Name: ______________________

Signature: ___________________

Date: _______________________

Landlord

Name: ______________________

Signature: ___________________

Date: _______________________

Related Proposals and Templates

Get access to our free Month-to-Month Lease Agreement Template

Now that you understand the benefits of using a monthly tenancy agreement, we’re confident our template will make leasing property accessible and approachable in your dealings.

Click below to download our free template