3 Reasons You Should Consider a 2-Year Apartment Lease
One-year leases reign supreme in the world of renting; it’s a long enough time period to provide stability to the landlord and short enough to offer flexibility for the renter. Unlike purchasing a home, when you rent a new apartment, you get to take it for a 12-month test drive. Don’t like the neighborhood? No worries – you can move out in a few months. Break up with your significant other? The torture won’t last more than a year.
But one-year leases aren’t always the most advantageous. Between lugging in your couch, unloading all your pots and pans, painstakingly arranging the perfect gallery wall and finding the closest late-night pizza place, it sometimes feels like it takes the entire year just to start to feel at home in your new place. While renewing your lease when the year is up may be an option, you risk changes to the terms, including an increased rental rate.
There’s a way to avoid the hassle of moving or renegotiating: signing a two-year apartment lease. At first glance, it seems like a setup that’s much more beneficial to your landlord than to you, but there are some surprising benefits to making a longer commitment. Here are three:
1. You can avoid rental rate increases. In most cases, your landlord cannot increase your rental rate for the duration of your one-year lease, so when you sign a two-year lease, you’re usually extending the life of your current rental rate. This isn’t always the case, however; laws vary by city and state. For example, landlords cannot increase rent after you’ve been in the rental for 30 days in California, but landlords in Washington state can increase rent as much as they see fit as long as they follow the legal requirements. Additionally, some rental agreements state that rent increases are allowed within the lease period, which is just one of the many reasons it’s so important to read every word before signing on the dotted line.
2. You might get a better deal. Filling a vacancy can be stressful for landlords – they have to paint the walls, clean or replace the carpets, fix any damages, advertise and show the apartment, and occasionally shoulder a one- to two-month loss of income after you move out, which can cause serious financial strain in between tenants. Sometimes the risk of not finding a new resident quickly is enough for your landlord to offer you a less expensive rental rate than what you would get with a one-year lease. In return for promising to stay in your apartment a little longer, you could find yourself saving thousands of dollars in the long run.
Pro tip: If the two-year apartment lease isn’t more affordable than the one-year lease option, try negotiating with your landlord or property manager. Most lease agreements can be tweaked a little if you have a good argument, so make sure you’ve done your research on rental rates for similar apartments in the area.
3. You don’t have to move again. The best thing about signing a two-year lease: You won’t have to go through the painstaking process of packing and moving all of your stuff again for at least 24 months. So the next time a friend needs a new roommate or your mom wants you to move closer to home, you have an excuse to say no. Moving can also be expensive, so staying put will save you money.
Of course, there are a couple things you’ll need to double-check before you sign a two-year lease. You want to make sure you’re comfortable living in one place while your apartment lease is in effect, as most leases are very expensive to break. It’s also a good idea to make sure your neighborhood is safe, the building is in good shape and you have a great roommate. Two years is long time to live with someone who never does the dishes.
