Now that you have found the house where you can live for the next few years and your landlord is asking you to make a residential lease agreement, do not worry. We understand many of us have not made a rental agreement before, so it might sound a bit tough.
We are here to help you out and tell you how you can create one. Furthermore, we will tell you about the necessary information that you should be knowing about the rental lease agreement.
A lease agreement can be defined as documentation between the tenant and the landlord. In this documentation, the tenant agrees to pay rent to the landlord in return for staying in the property. Please keep reading further to know more about it leaving no room for doubts.
What Is a Standard Lease Agreement?
We come across so many stages in life where certain legal documentation is needed to be prepared so that there is a lower risk of problems and disagreements in the future. One such is the standard lease agreement.
We can simply say that this residential lease agreement is a legal document that gives permission to the landlord to enter into a legal binding with the tenant.
The basic rental agreement has typically a one year term period fix or more than that. It builds a relationship between the tenant and the landlord where the tenant agrees to pay rent in return for occupying the property of the landlord.
It is made only after the tenant shows interest in the property of the landlord and the landlord uses a rental application to verify the credential and background information of the tenant.
The standard lease agreement will hold several other rules and regulations on which both the parties need to agree to make the legal contract successful. It does not require any witness or notary public.
Who Needs a Residential Lease Agreement?
It has become very expensive to own a house no matter which city or country you belong to. That is why common people prefer to choose rented homes rather than purchasing their own. These are the people who will need a standard residential lease agreement.
Besides that, the property owners who are looking forward to giving their homes for rent to the tenants are the ones who will need a standard rental agreement.
It is because the agreement is legal documentation that lowers the risk of future problems and conflicts. It helps in creating a mutual understanding between the tenant and the landlord.
What Should I Include in a Standard Lease Agreement?
If you are looking forward to making a rental lease agreement or if your landlord has asked you to do so, then here is the list of things that you need to include in a residential lease agreement.
The Mandatory Details
You need to include the name of the tenant and the landlord in any rental agreement, even a basic rental agreement; it's mandatory. Moreover, you also need to include the date of occupancy and the complete address of the property that is to be rented.
The Lease Dates
Secondly, the starting date and the ending date of the lease need to be included. In other words, you need to mention the starting date from which the property is rented to the ending date when the rent period gets over.
The dates should be written in the format as mm/dd/yyyy in the standard residential lease agreement.
Rent and The Payment Procedure
The payment for each month needs to be included in the basic rental agreement. Besides that, the mailing address or the local address needs to be mentioned where the rent needs to be delivered.
If there is any type of penalty charge for the late payment of the rent then you need to include it in the standard rental agreement.
Security Deposit
If there is any security deposit taken for the rented property then you need to mention it there without fail.
Other Things
Furthermore, some other essential details like,
- the electricity and water bill charges
- the use of the garage or the parking area
- the condition of the premises
- penalty on damaging the property
- the number of occupants
- notification of serious building problems, subletting, pets, and more.
should be included in the apartment lease or the rental lease agreement.
Signature
Last but not the least, once the agreement is read and agreed upon by both parties, it needs to be signed. Along with the signature, the date of the signature needs to be mentioned too in the standard rental agreement. You can sign or edit the document online with free PDF editors like CocoDoc.
How to Use a Standard Lease Agreement Template?
The standard lease agreement template can be used by the tenant or the landlord. All you need to do is download the right template from the internet and fill it up. The internet has a standard lease agreement PDF from where you can easily get the free residential lease agreement.
Download only if it has the necessary details that you are looking for or try to go for an editable lease agreement so that you can add the important details you need in the legal documentation.
Having a rental lease agreement can create a mutual understanding between you and your tenant. It will help to avoid future problems that may create conflicts. You can also seek help from the internet and get yourself a fillable lease agreement that already has every detail.
The best thing you can do is to create a residential lease agreement instead of downloading a residential lease template. Do it under the guidance of a lawyer as they are familiar with such things and will give you the right advice.
