Rental Rate Stability

• Long-term leasing agreements provide stability in terms of the rental rates paid by the tenant. Rental rates are vulnerable to changes in the market and as such they tend to fluctuate, sometimes to the detriment of the tenant. A 20-year lease comes with a fixed amount of rent payable to the homeowner. Additionally, the homeowner cannot change the terms of the lease agreement before the prevailing lease term is over. This protects the tenant from arbitrary changes by the homeowner, a situation common with other types of residential rental agreements such as short-term tenancies.
  
  

Lower Costs

• Compared with short-term lease agreements, longer leases are less costly. Homeowners who find a tenant willing to stay in the property for 20 years are often willing to negotiate for more favorable rental costs. Landlords are more willing to negotiate the rent on a longer lease agreement because then they will not have to incur costs of advertising and having an empty house for a longer period. This willingness to negotiate is especially applicable when the real estate market is cold; that is when there are plenty of houses and fewer buyers interested in long-term leases. Consequently a tenant may get a less costly deal for the lease.
  
  

Lower Risk of Eviction

• Admittedly, a 20-year lease may compel a tenant to stay in a home that he no longer wants to live in, but this type of lease offers firm assurance against being evicted. Tenants on short-term leases and other forms of residential agreements always face the risk of eviction as a result of tenant-homeowner disputes. On the contrary with a long-term lease the tenant faces a lower risk of eviction. This means that the tenant will not have to worry about imminent evictions as a result of disputes with the homeowner. However, whether it's a long-term or short-term lease, a landlord can still try to evict with just cause.
  
  

Tenant Improvement Allowance

• Tenants with long-term leases enjoy the tenant improvement allowance (TIA). TIA is typically applicable to commercial properties but if you will be living in a house for 20 years, you may want to improve various parts of the home, such as floors and walls. In this case it may be suitable to negotiate a tenant improvement allowance. This is an amount of money a landlord agrees to pay to cater to the expenses of improving the property. Both the tenant and the homeowner are able to negotiate the terms of the tenant improvement allowance. This is advantageous for the tenant because he does not have to spend too much money improving property that is not his own. However, if the cost of the improvement surpasses the agreed TIA, the tenant is responsible for the excess amount.