What are the terms of a rental lease contract?
A lease or rental agreement sets out the rules landlords and tenants agree to follow in their rental relationship. It is a legal contract, as well as an immensely practical document full of crucial business details, such as how long the tenant can occupy the property and the amount of rent due each month.
What must a lease include?
What you should include in a tenancy agreement
- the names of all people involved.
- the rental price and how it’s paid.
- information on how and when the rent will be reviewed.
- the deposit amount and how it will be protected.
- when the deposit can be fully or partly withheld, for example to repair damage caused by tenants.
How long is a typical rental contract?
Most landlords offer 12 month tenancies. That’s pretty standard. It’s also what most tenants expect. 6 months is also quite common, and I’m an avid fan of this duration because I feel it’s the safest for all parties involved, particularly with tenants I don’t know or trust.
How do you make a lease contract?
The rental agreement, or lease, should be in writing and signed by both the landlord and tenant. The lease should include the name of landlord and tenant, the property address and the date when the lease begins and ends.
What to look for in an apartment lease agreement?
The obvious things to be looking for in a lease agreement are the term of the lease, how much is paid, options to extend the lease or terminate it early, rights for pets, and possibly an option to purchase the property. You can reserve other rights if you intend to run a business on the property or if you want to be able to rent out rooms.
Is a lease agreement on an apartment a binding contract?
Most lease agreements are written, legally binding documents, however, some verbal leases can be enforced as oral contracts. Although tenants are still protected by tenants-rights laws with a verbal lease, not all states uphold oral contracts. It can be tempting to skip all of the paperwork and just go straight to a verbal contract.
What if I Break an apartment lease?
When signing a lease in some states, a liquidated damages option is available. This commits you to paying the rent if you vacate early, until the landlord finds a new tenant, or, you can leave if you give the landlord 60 days’ notice and pay two months’ rent when you vacate. Check your lease.
