The important word for today is “Lease”, as in leasing residential property. Owners and tenants should understand the consequences of signing any mysterious documents.
The question for today is, “What happens at the end of the lease?” The tenants could move out. Obviously the parties could extend the agreement or make a new one. Or the tenants could stay and the owner accepts rent, and we have a “Holdover”.
Therefore, if tenants want to stay, either party can insist on a new lease, or the tenants continues paying rent and the owner accepts. What do I recommend as a tenant, try to get a new lease. What do I recommend as an owner, Holdover. In these cases the lease is a tenant’s friend.
Why do I like the Holdover? One main reason from experience is that if the tenant becomes a problem, I can give them a 3 Day or 30 Day Notice to Vacate. They have no lease. Also, the Holdover creates a month-to-month tenancy, so if conditions change, and I want to raise rents, I can at any time. These advantages have to be balanced with the problem that the tenants can also move at any time by giving a 30 day notice.
By the way, did you know that by giving the proper notices an owner can raise rents on a month-to-month tenancy at any time as long as the raises are not discriminatory, and your property is not in a Rent Controlled Area.Yes, more than once a year.
Just some thoughts.
You neglected to state that in California if a tenant holds over after 12 months of tenancy the landlord is required to give that tenant a 60 Day Notice to Terminate Tenancy. The tenant is only required to give 30 days notice.