Start a lease renewal before the term ends, in writing, with the new rent, the new end date, and the deadline for the tenant to accept. A renewal is a change to the lease. A conversation in the hallway is not the change. "Simple lease agreement" is searched about 5,400 times a month in the United States. The renewal is shorter than a new lease, and it still has to name the money and the dates.

The exterior of a multi-story apartment building in daylight.
Image: Architecturist · CC BY-SA 3.0

When do you start a renewal?

Count backward from the lease end date by the notice the current lease, and the local law, require. If the lease ends June 30, 2026, and you need 60 days to offer a new rent, send the offer by May 1. If the statute requires a longer notice for a rent increase, use that longer notice. The number is local. Do not assume 30 days is enough because it was enough on the last building.

Read the rent roll's lease-end column once a week. Any date inside 75 days goes on a list with the owner. You need the owner's yes on the new rent before you offer it. Offering $1,950 and then telling the owner you already promised it is how the agreement with the owner breaks.

What goes in the renewal offer?

Keep it to the changes. The rest of the lease stays as signed, unless you are replacing the whole form.

Item Example for Unit 2
Current term ends June 30, 2026
New term July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027
Current rent $1,850
New rent $1,920, due the 1st
Other charges Parking stays $75. Pet rent stays $40.
Deposit No new deposit. The $1,850 already held stays.
Reply by May 20, 2026
If they do not reply The lease ends June 30, and they must return the keys that day, if that is what the current lease and the local notice rules say

Say whether the increase needs a statutory form. Some cities require a specific notice for any increase. Attach that form. Do not hide the increase in a friendly paragraph. The first sentence can be: "The new rent is $1,920 a month, starting July 1, 2026."

If the tenant has a balance, decide before you offer. Renewing a lease that is $973 behind without a payment plan writes the delinquency into another year. Either collect, or sign a plan, or do not renew. Put the plan in the same packet if you renew anyway.

How do you record the renewal after they sign?

  1. File the signed renewal with the original lease. Do not throw out the old terms. The deposit and the start date still come from the first lease.
  2. Change the recurring rent from $1,850 to $1,920 effective July 1, 2026. June stays $1,850.
  3. Leave the deposit balance at $1,850 unless the renewal lawfully collects more, which many caps will not allow. See the deposit rules for that state before you add to it.
  4. Tell the owner the new rent and the new end date on the next statement, or sooner if they asked.
  5. Update the rent roll so the lease-end column says June 30, 2027, not June 30, 2026.

A renewal that is signed and never entered in the recurring charges will bill $1,850 in July. The tenant will pay the old amount and be current on a wrong ledger. Enter the new rent the day you sign.

What if they want a month-to-month holdover?

Price it on purpose. Some leases convert to month-to-month at the same rent. Some allow a higher month-to-month rent if the statute permits. Write the monthly rent and the notice each side must give. A holdover you never document becomes an argument about whether the June 30 end date still matters.

Tivio keeps the lease, the deposit, the recurring charges, and the renewal on the same tenancy, so July's rent posts at the new amount and the deposit does not get billed again. The rent roll shows the new end date. Send the offer early, get the owner's number first, and change the recurring charge the day the renewal is signed.

What does the offer letter say?

Send it as a letter or an email you can file. Here is Unit 2, offered May 1, 2026.

Your lease at 14 Maple Street, Unit 2, ends June 30, 2026. We are offering a new term from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027. The new rent is $1,920 a month, due on the 1st. Parking stays $75. Pet rent stays $40. The security deposit of $1,850 stays as it is. Please sign and return this offer by May 20, 2026. If we do not have a signed copy by that date, the lease ends June 30, 2026, and the keys are due that day.

Change the last sentence if the current lease or the local law converts the tenancy to month-to-month instead of ending it. Do not threaten an end date the law will not honor. Have counsel read the sentence once, then reuse it.

If a city requires a rent-increase notice on a government form, attach the form and do not rely on this letter alone. The letter is your file copy of the business terms. The form is the legal notice.

What do you do on the day they sign?

Jordan signs on May 12. You scan the page onto the lease the same day. You set the recurring rent to $1,920 starting July 1. You leave June at $1,850. You change the rent roll's lease-end date to June 30, 2027. You email Helen: "Unit 2 renewed. New rent $1,920 from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027. Deposit unchanged."

You do not bill the $70 increase in May. You do not collect another deposit. You do not archive the original lease. The deposit receipt from move-in is still the proof of the $1,850 you hold.

If Jordan asks to go month-to-month, answer in writing with the monthly rent and the notice each side must give. A verbal "that's fine" becomes a dispute in September about whether the rent is $1,850 or $1,920. Write the number.

Tivio stores the renewal on the same lease as the deposit and the recurring charges. July posts at $1,920 because you changed the charge. The rent roll shows the new end date. The work is the offer, the owner's approval, and the date you enter the new rent.