What happens to the lease if the tenant remains after the lease term ends - holdover tenant?

When the tenant stays in the unit beyond the end of the term provided in the written lease, the landlord may choose to treat the tenant as either a trespasser or a continuing tenant. The landlord elects to treat tenant as a trespasser by beginning eviction proceedings. The landlord may treat tenant as a continuing tenant rather than a trespasser by continuing to accept rent. The tenant then is considered a "holdover" tenant and may remain in the unit, subject to the provisions in the original lease which control the holdover tenancy. The new term is for the same length of time as the original term. 

For example, the tenant has a one year lease but continues to live in the unit after the end if the one year, pays the rent, and the landlord accepts the rent, then the tenant and the landlord may have effectively agreed to renew the lease for another one-year period. This is the result if the lease does not state what happens when the tenant remains after the end of the term. Some leases contain a provision dealing with the issue in another way. Rather than a renewal of the full term of the lease, a lease might provide that the tenant can stay on a month-to month basis after the one-year term expires.

A holdover tenant must pay the rent specified in the original lease unless the landlord notified the tenant of a rent increase before the lease expired. By holding over after notification, the tenant is deemed to have agreed to the rental increase.

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1. What is a lease?
2. Does the lease have to be in writing?
3. What should the lease cover?
4. What can be done about violence or drugs on the premises?
5. How should the lease be signed?
6. What happens to the lease if the apartment building or house is sold to a new owner?
7. Do roommates have obligations under the lease?
8. What happens to the lease if the tenant remains after the lease term ends - holdover tenant?
9. Are all clauses in a lease legal?
10. Can a landlord refuse to rent to a prospective tenant?