How copier lease auto-renewals work (and how to stop one)

Almost every copier lease written in the Northeast contains an evergreen clause. If you do nothing, the lease renews itself — usually for another twelve months, at the same payment, on equipment you have already paid off several times over.

The notice window

Most leases require written notice somewhere between 90 and 180 days before the end date. Miss it by a day and the renewal is enforceable. The window is measured against the lease end date, not the date of your last invoice, and the two are frequently different.

What the lessor usually requires

• Written notice, not a phone call and not an email to your sales rep.
• Certified mail or another trackable method, sent to the address printed in the contract.
• The lease or schedule number, the equipment serial numbers, and a clear statement of intent to return.

Do this today

Find the contract. Write down the end date and subtract the longest notice period listed. Put both dates on a shared calendar with a reminder, and send your notice at the beginning of the window rather than the end. Keep the certified-mail receipt — it is the only proof that matters if the lessor claims the notice never arrived.

If the window has already closed

You still have options. Renewals can often be shortened, and a buyout or a trade into new equipment can absorb the remaining obligation. What does not work is ignoring it.

Our End of Lease Help tool reads your lease and pulls out the dates, the notice requirement and the return address so you are not hunting through fine print.