The Rental Agreement

Make sure your rental agreement includes everything it should.

Once you've decided on a tenant, you will want to use a rental agreement, or lease, to formalize your relationship. While it's possible to proceed without a written agreement if your tenant will be occupying your property on a month-to-month basis, a written lease is the only way to be sure that both you and the tenant have a clear understanding of the terms and conditions governing your relationship.

You can have a lawyer prepare a lease for you to use, or you can obtain a standard preprinted lease at many stationery and office supply stores. If you belong to a landlords' organization, it will usually have a standardized lease that complies with state and local laws for its members' use. In general, you'll want a lease to include:

• A description of the unit to be rented;

• The dates that the lease begins and ends;

• The names of all the parties to the lease;

• The amount of rent and when it is due;

• The amount of any security deposit or other deposits;

• A prohibition against pets, or a description of those permitted;

• A prohibition against pets, or a description of those permitted;

• A statement prohibiting or regulating the tenant's right to sublet;

• A clause allocating responsibility for utilities and other expenses;

• The address to which any notices required by law can be sent;

• A requirement that any changes to the lease also be made in writing;

• A description of how the lease is terminated or renewed, and;

• The other obligations of landlord and tenant.

The lease should be signed at the end by everyone who will be obligated by the lease terms. That means the landlord, the tenant, and any co-tenants.

A lease is a contract, and like all contracts it can be amended and modified for different situations. If you are using a preprinted lease, you can delete certain provisions by lining through them and initialing the change (the tenant must also initial changes to be bound by them). If you want to add a term or condition, most preprinted leases provide a blank space where you can make your addition.