Transitioning from oral to written agreement

Transitioning from oral to written agreement by Mel (Connecticut) on May 11, 2012 @19:20

We have a tenant that has resided on our property for over 5 years. The rental agreement is is month to month oral agreement. We never provided a written lease agreement. We have provided this property to the tenant below market value and have never increased the rent. We think it's time for a rent increase and would really like to implement a written agreement. My question is, is it illegal to change a from oral agreement to a written agreement after all this time?
-----Thanks for listening and replying

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Re: Transitioning from oral to written agreement by Jake on May 11, 2012 @19:38	[ Reply ]

If your agreement is oral, legally you really do not have an agreement. Some landlords will tell you different but oral agreements are worthless when it comes to enforcing them. Long term tenants get jumpy when you start dragging out written leases when none existed before. Unless there has been a problem why don't you just take one thing at a time. Make an oral notice that the rent is increaseing. If your tenant stays and pays, you can talk about the written lease a few months from now. Expect your tenant to have an anxiety attack when you mention the rent increase. Be prepared for the possibly of a vacancy too. But if the tenant moves, this will be a good time to paint, clean up and make a few improvements that will help you get another tenant.

Re: Transitioning from oral to written agreement by j_dumas (MA) on May 14, 2012 @17:25	[ Reply ]

I am surprised whenever I find out that a landlord does an oral agreement. I have heard that if a tenant lives at a location long enough, he or she may have some entitlement to living there that builds up over time. Yikes!

Re: Transitioning from oral to written agreement