One of the trends I’ve noticed lately is that landlords here on Guam are requiring leases in excess of the standard one year that has customary here for so long. Lately, landlords won’t even consider a lease for less than 2 years in many cases.

Here’s why.

Naturally, landlords prefer longer term leases because every time they have a vacancy, it costs them money to rent their property out again, and they risk having a vacant property that’s not producing income for weeks or sometimes months. Conversely, they also run the risk of having to keep a bad tenant that’s not maintaining the property and keeping their side of the agreement. That’s the landlords side anyway.

From the tenant’s perspective a longer term lease (meaning 2 or 3 years) has it’s pros and cons.

There are a few advantages of a multiple year lease to the tenant. First, it protects you from rent increases. In reality, those aren’t very common on Guam, but it can still be a concern and the right of the landlord. Especially, if for some reason, the landlord wants you out. Secondly, if you’re in a multi-year lease, you would be protected in the event the owner decides to sell the property. Meaning you can’t be forced out by the new owner until the end of the lease. Again, not common, but it could (and has) happened. The major disadvantage to being locked into a legally binding agreement for 2 or more years is simple. Should you have a problem landlord, and they do exist here, you’re stuck with them, unless you’re willing to take costly legal action.

Many of the problems can be avoided when the right verbiage is incorporated into your rental agreement. We call them “clauses” in the business, and there are many that can be added to your lease contract to protect you from landlords that don’t deliver and houses that have repeated maintenance issues.

Call any of our licensed agents or chat with us live on our website. We can get you pointed in the right direction and make sure your multiple year lease contract doesn’t turn into a multiple year nightmare for you.