Short answer: a lease renewal workflow should calculate the next action from the lease, applicable notice rules, company policy, resident status, property condition, owner decision, and delivery evidence. It should begin early enough to make a fair, reviewed offer and still leave time for a controlled move-out and remarketing plan when the resident does not renew.
Buildium illustrates a 120-, 90-, 60-, and 30-day renewal sequence and recommends preparing a backup marketing plan. Its commercial lease guidance similarly emphasizes scheduled reminders before important dates. These timings are planning examples, not universal legal deadlines. Lease terms, rent-change rules, renewal rights, fair-housing duties, delivery methods, and notice periods vary by location and property type. Obtain qualified local review before configuring any calendar.
Create a controlled lease-date record
Store the lease start, expiration, notice requirements, renewal options, rent-change constraints, delivery addresses or channels, responsible operator, source-document link, and last verification date. Do not calculate notices from a manually typed expiration date with no connection to the signed lease and amendments.
Separate legal dates from internal target dates
A legal or contractual deadline is not the same as the date the team wants to begin work. Record the authority for each required date, then create earlier internal targets for inspection, owner review, pricing, drafting, delivery, and follow-up. Preserve the jurisdiction and rule version used for the calculation so a later reviewer can understand it.
Use an illustrative 120-day planning sequence
- Around 120 days: verify the lease, local requirements, resident status, open issues, and property plan.
- Around 90 days: obtain owner and pricing approval, prepare the offer, and review consistency.
- Around 60 days: follow up through approved channels and prepare a fallback vacancy plan.
- Around 30 days: finish signatures or execute the controlled move-out, turnover, and marketing workflow.
Move these points earlier whenever the lease, jurisdiction, property, market, or operating policy requires it.
Review the whole resident and property context
Check payment and communication records under approved policy, unresolved maintenance, accommodation requests, complaints, inspection results, planned work, owner strategy, market support, and known legal restrictions. Apply documented criteria consistently. Sensitive or adverse decisions need human and legal review, not an automatic score.
Approve pricing and terms before sending
Record the proposed rent, term, concessions, fees, effective date, rationale, owner approval, reviewer, and policy version. Distinguish market information from the final approved offer. Do not allow an automation to change a resident's terms merely because an external estimate moved.
Download the lease renewal calendar
Download the editable lease renewal workflow and notice calendar (CSV). It includes source dates, jurisdiction review, target milestones, offer status, delivery evidence, response, signature, fallback actions, and exception ownership.
Deliver, record, and follow up
Use only approved delivery methods and templates. Record the exact document version, delivery channel, sent time, recipient, confirmation or proof, response deadline, and follow-up history. The resident communication workflow explains how consent, channel, escalation, and response evidence should remain attached to the record.
Close with a signed renewal or a fallback workflow
When accepted, verify all signatures, effective dates, charges, deposit handling, resident records, and document delivery. When declined or unanswered, activate the approved notice, marketing, inspection, move-out, and turnover plan without erasing the renewal history. Use the unit-turn workflow and board to carry the property into the next operating stage.
Measure the workflow, not just the renewal rate
Track leases reviewed on time, offers approved and sent on time, days to response, acceptance by offer type, notices with complete evidence, expirations without a documented decision, renewal-related complaints, and vacancy lead time. Pair these measures with the property management KPI dictionary so every rate has a formula and accountable owner.
Frequently asked questions
Can software automatically send every renewal notice?
Automation can create reminders and drafts, but the lease, jurisdiction, current facts, approved terms, delivery rules, and exceptions should be reviewed before a consequential notice is sent.
What if the resident does not respond?
Follow the lease, applicable law, and approved escalation policy. Preserve each attempt and deadline. Do not treat silence as acceptance unless qualified guidance confirms that result for the specific situation.