A renewal is a decision the owner makes with a deadline the law sets, and the deadline usually arrives before anyone has looked at the file. This free lease renewal checklist gives property managers, letting agents and landlords a workflow that starts well ahead of lease expiry or the rent review date. It covers the dates and lease terms, a review of the tenancy, a market rent check and an owner-approved decision, then the notices and paperwork for the place you let in. One question at the start shows the US renewal phase, the England section 13 rent review introduced by the Renters’ Rights Act, or the commercial lease phase.
In most of the US a residential lease still runs for a fixed term, typically a year, and renewal means agreeing a new term or letting the lease roll to month-to-month. The landlord can usually raise the rent or decline to renew, subject to notice periods and, in some places, rent caps and just-cause rules that remove the option of simply not renewing.
England changed on 1 May 2026. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025, which received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025, turned existing assured shorthold tenancies into assured periodic tenancies, abolished section 21 and stopped new fixed terms being granted. There is no lease to renew. The tenancy simply continues until the tenant gives two months’ notice or the landlord obtains possession on a statutory ground. What remains of “renewal” is the annual rent review, which must now go through section 13 of the Housing Act 1988. Rent review clauses in tenancy agreements stopped applying from that date, so the formal notice is the only route.
The review steps are the same either way: check the tenant, check the market, decide, tell the owner. The paperwork afterwards is what differs, which is why the template splits there.
Seven phases run from setting the dates to filing the signed paperwork. Phase 4 appears only for US residential leases, Phase 5 only for residential tenancies in England and Phase 6 only for commercial leases.
Answer the two scope questions first. They decide which notice phase and rent-cap task this renewal shows.
Shown only when the scope answer is US residential lease.
Shown only when the scope answer is Residential tenancy in England.
Shown only when the scope answer is Commercial lease.
Notice periods are where renewals go wrong, because each jurisdiction counts them differently and many US cities add a layer on top of the state. The table shows England and four US examples. Set the template’s due dates from the longest period that applies to each property, and add the city rules that apply where you let.
| Where | Rent increase | Ending or not renewing |
|---|---|---|
| England (assured periodic tenancies) | Once a year by section 13 notice on Form 4A, at least two months ahead; no increase in the first 12 months; tenant can apply to the First-tier Tribunal | No section 21. Possession only on a statutory ground; selling or moving in needs four months’ notice and cannot be used in the first 12 months |
| California | 30 days’ notice for increases of 10% or less, 90 days above 10%; where the Tenant Protection Act applies, no more than 5% plus inflation, capped at 10%, in any 12 months | For covered units, after 12 months of occupancy only for just cause stated in the notice; no-fault terminations require one month’s rent in relocation assistance |
| Oregon | No increase in the first year; then 90 days’ written notice, once in 12 months; 2026 maximum 9.5% for covered tenancies | After the first year, only for tenant cause or a qualifying landlord reason, some with one month’s rent in relocation payment |
| New York State | Written notice of 30, 60 or 90 days for an increase of 5% or more, depending on how long the tenant has lived there or the lease length | The same 30, 60 or 90 days’ notice for non-renewal; without it the tenancy continues on existing terms until the notice period runs out |
| New York City rent-stabilised | Renewal offer on the state renewal form between 90 and 150 days before the lease ends, at the rate the Rent Guidelines Board allows | The tenant has 60 days to accept; the owner must offer a renewal except on limited grounds |
Commercial leases run on a different clock. In England and Wales, a business tenancy protected by Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 continues after its contractual end date until it is ended under the Act. The landlord ends it with a section 25 notice, which must give a termination date between 6 and 12 months after it is served and say whether the landlord will oppose a new tenancy. The tenant can serve a section 26 request on the same 6 to 12 month window. Leases that were contracted out of the Act end on their expiry date, so the first task is finding out which kind you have. The Renters’ Rights Act does not apply to commercial lettings.
Treat every tenant the same way. In the US the Fair Housing Act prohibits different terms or conditions of rental based on race, colour, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin, and a renewal decision is a term of rental. Running the same review for every tenancy, and recording the reasons for each decision, is the simplest way to show the decision was made on the facts.
Every task carries a due date offset from the day the checklist starts, so a renewal begun four months out lands the notice task before the legal cut-off. You can start each renewal from your lease data through the API.
The recommendation stops at an approval step until the owner answers, so no offer or notice goes out on a rent the owner never agreed. The approval sits in the history beside the comparables it was based on.
One dropdown shows the US notices, the England section 13 review or the commercial lease steps. A portfolio across several jurisdictions runs one template, and reports show which renewals are close to their notice dates.
A renewal review is only as good as what you know about the property. The Annual Property Inspection Checklist gives you a current condition and safety record. When a tenant leaves instead of renewing, the Move-In / Move-Out Inspection Checklist runs the move-out and the deposit, and the Tenant Screening Checklist finds the next tenant.
Managing renewals across a portfolio? CheckFlow for property management runs renewals alongside inspections, maintenance and tenant onboarding, so every tenancy follows the same steps whoever manages it.
Early enough to review the tenancy, check the market, get the owner’s decision and still serve notice inside the longest period that applies. For most US residential leases that means starting about four months before expiry: California needs 90 days’ notice for an increase above 10%, and New York City rent-stabilised renewals go out 90 to 150 days ahead. Commercial leases in England and Wales need at least a year, because a section 25 notice can be served up to 12 months ahead.
Not for private residential lettings. Since 1 May 2026 the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 has made assured tenancies periodic, including existing assured shorthold tenancies, so there is no fixed term to renew. The tenancy continues until the tenant gives two months’ notice or the landlord gets possession on a statutory ground. Rent is reviewed once a year with a section 13 notice.
It depends on where the property is. In England it is at least two months, on Form 4A, no more than once a year. In California it is 30 days for an increase of 10% or less and 90 days above that. Oregon requires 90 days. New York State requires 30, 60 or 90 days for increases of 5% or more, depending on how long the tenant has been there. Check city rules too.
In much of the US, yes, with proper notice, provided the reason is not discriminatory or retaliatory. California’s Tenant Protection Act and Oregon require a just cause or qualifying reason once a tenant has been in place for a year, and rent-stabilised tenants in New York City have a right to a renewal offer. In England the landlord now needs a statutory possession ground to end a private tenancy.
The key dates and the last day to serve each notice, the lease’s own renewal terms, a review of payment history and property condition, comparable rents, any legal cap on the increase, the owner’s decision, the notice or renewal offer with proof of service, the signed paperwork and the date of the next review.
14-day free trial, no card required. The Business plan is $10 per user per month after the trial. Full details at checkflow.io/pricing.
