At Will Tenancy

When some people rent a home or apartment from a landlord or management company, they decide to occupy the property, with the landlord’s permission, on an “at will” basis. This means that either the landlord or the tenant can terminate the occupation of the property at any time. There is no lease that can be broken as there was never a lease in the first place.

Occupying an apartment or home on an at-will basis has many benefits for the tenant. For starters, if a person is unsure of where he or she wants to live but just wants to get into an apartment and think later due to time constraints like a new job, an at will situation can help. The person can move into the apartment and occupy it until he or she finds the perfect apartment in the perfect location.

For the landlord, there is the benefit that nothing beyond 30 days notice needs to be given in order to get a bad tenant out of an apartment or house. There is also the benefit that the tenant most likely won’t try to sub-let the dwelling as there is no point since the tenant can just move out.

While there are many benefits, being in an “at will” situation can have its downsides, as well. For starters, the landlord is not necessarily required to respond to a crisis immediately. Most leases will contain provisions concerning when someone will respond to a crisis in the apartment. In addition, there is no guarantee that the landlord will fix things at all since, if the tenant is unhappy, he or she can just move out.

Contact an Austin Realtor

If you are considering renting a property in Austin, contact the Austin realtors of The Carvajal Group at 512-419-7770 to discuss the benefits of signing an actual lease.