A tenant and landlord executed a TAR Residential Lease (TAR 2001). In Paragraph 4A, Box 2 was checked requiring either party to give 60 days' notice to terminate the lease. In Paragraph 4B, Box 2 was checked requiring at least 30 days’ notice if the lease renewed on a month-to-month basis. The lease automatically renewed on a month-to-month basis because neither party provided 60 days’ notice of termination as required by Paragraph 4A. The tenant now wants to terminate the lease, but the landlord is requiring the tenant to give 60 days' notice to terminate. Can the landlord require the tenant to give 60 days' notice now that the lease is on a month-to-month basis?
What’s the difference between Paragraphs 4A and 4B in the Texas REALTORS® Residential Lease (TAR 2001)?
Paragraph 4A applies to the initial term of the lease. Paragraph 4B applies if the lease is on a month-to-month basis.
For example, a tenant has a one-year lease in which the expiration date of the initial term is Jan. 31. Paragraph 4A(2) is checked, which requires a 60-day notice of termination before the expiration date. If the landlord or tenant doesn’t provide the necessary written notice of termination on or before Dec. 3, a time period of 60 days, the lease will automatically renew on a month-to-month basis.
Paragraph 4B will now apply for notice of termination. The period for giving notice now will depend on whether 4B(1) or 4B(2) is checked.
Both paragraphs require written notice of termination, not verbal notice. If the landlord does not intend to renew, he should provide the Notice of Landlord’s Intent Not to Renew(TAR 2217) within the necessary time frame required under the lease.