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Contract trap · Lease

Lease auto-renewal trap

The lease 'shall be deemed renewed' for another full term unless the tenant gives written notice 60-90 days before expiry (no reminder sent; notice required even to leave at the end of a fixed term; 'renewal fee'), while staying past the term without a new lease triggers 150-200% 'holdover' rent or a 'month-to-month fee' on top of rent.

Severity
Serious
How often it turns up
Common
Holds up?
Depends where you are
Clause phrases
23

What it looks like in a contract

Redline matches these phrases against your document verbatim. Drafters rarely invent new wording — they copy it, which is why the same sentences turn up across unrelated contracts.

In English-language contracts

  • automatically renew
  • shall be deemed renewed
  • for a like term
  • unless either party gives written notice at least 60 days
  • 90 days prior to expiration
  • notice in writing of two calendar months must still be given
  • renewal fee
  • holdover
  • 150% of the monthly rent
  • double rent
  • month-to-month fee
  • tenancy at sufferance

In Russian-language contracts

  • считается продлённым на тот же срок
  • автоматически продлевается на тех же условиях
  • если ни одна из сторон не заявит
  • не позднее чем за 60 дней до окончания срока
  • пролонгация
  • на следующие 11 месяцев
  • обязан уведомить о намерении не продлевать
  • за каждый день проживания сверх срока
  • в двойном размере
  • плата за фактическое проживание после окончания срока
  • неустойка за несвоевременное освобождение

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Why it bites

Missing the window binds the tenant to a further year through inertia; for fixed terms no notice is legally needed to leave, so the clause manufactures a penalty; tenants waiting on a renewal or purchase see rent double (NCLC: $100-$1,000 monthly month-to-month fees folded into eviction judgments).

Is it enforceable where you are

The same clause can be routine in one country and void in another. What follows is what the law says where you are — not advice on your particular contract.

In the US, deposit deadlines and entry notice are set state by state; in England and Wales the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the deposit protection schemes apply, and in the EU national tenancy law sits on top of Directive 93/13.

United States

NY GOL 5-905: auto-renewal clause inoperative unless the landlord serves a written reminder 15-30 days before the tenant's notice deadline; expired leases become month-to-month by default; holdover multiples enforceable if in the lease and not unconscionable (some states allow double rent after notice, e.g. FL 83.58); month-to-month 'fees' must be disclosed as rent.

  • Cited
  • NY GOL 5-905

European Union

93/13 Annex 1(h) (auto-extension with unreasonably early deadline) and 1(e); Germany: fixed terms rare (BGB 575), continued use converts into an unlimited tenancy at the same rent (545), only usual local rent as holdover compensation (546a); France: tacite reconduction on statutory terms, indemnité d'occupation set by court, clauses shortening protection réputées non écrites (loi 89-462 art 4).

  • Cited
  • 93/13 Annex 1(h)
  • BGB 575
  • loi 89-462 art 4

United Kingdom

OFT/CMA: requiring notice to leave at the end of a fixed term is unfair (no notice is legally required); overlong notice periods relying on inertia are unfair (CRA 2015 Sch 2 para 9); a fixed-term AST rolls into a statutory periodic tenancy at the same rent, so 150-200% holdover rent is likely a penalty; Renters' Rights Act 2025 abolishes fixed terms — tenant leaves on 2 months' notice.

  • Cited
  • CMA
  • CRA 2015 Sch 2 para 9
  • Renters' Rights Act 2025

Russia

Пролонгация законна (ст. 421 ГК), а наниматель вправе расторгнуть договор в любое время (ст. 687 п. 1) — вред в сочетании с длинным сроком уведомления и штрафом; при продолжении пользования без возражений договор считается продлённым (ст. 684 для долгосрочного найма); неустойка за несвоевременный возврат допустима, но снижается (ст. 333).

  • Cited
  • ст. 333
  • ст. 421 ГК
  • ст. 684
  • ст. 687 п. 1

Where this has actually happened

Regulator actions, court rulings and the contracts they were fought over.

  • NY General Obligations Law 5-905 (reminder requirement for lease auto-renewal clauses)
  • OFT356 (2005) unfair example: 'Should the tenant not wish to renew the contract at the end of the agreed term notice in writing of two calendar months... must still be given'
  • Яндекс Аренда типовой договор (2026): 'автоматически продлевается на тех же условиях на следующие 11 месяцев' при отсутствии уведомления за месяц
  • NCLC et al. comments to FTC (Feb 2023): Illinois month-to-month fee of $1,000 on top of rent; Washington fees around 25% of rent

What to do

In order, from the thing that takes a minute to the thing that takes a letter.

  1. Change renewal to month-to-month rollover or require a landlord reminder 30 days before the notice deadline (as NY law demands)
  2. Negotiate holdover at the same rent or ≤10% uplift
  3. Diarise the deadline on signing and send non-renewal notice early by a provable channel
  4. RU: заменить на «по соглашению сторон» или «на неопределённый срок с правом расторжения по уведомлению за 30 дней».

Check your own document

Traps that travel with it

Drafters who use one of these usually use several.

79 traps · 1789 verbatim clause phrases