Lease agreement is a formal contract between the landlord and the tenant or the lessor and the lessee that enables the lessee to use the property owned or managed by the lessor for a period of time in accordance to the lease agreement. This agreement does not allow ownership rights to the lessee, and the lessee is the one responsible for the condition of the property.
You must bear in mind that you and your tenant must need to sign a lease agreement before you hand over the keys to your property. Your lease agreement is one of the most significant documents in your rental business, and it will help you to avoid any conflicts and headaches in the future that is why you need it through a thorough and specific lease agreement. And if all of your requirements and rules are outlined, and when issues occur, you can always refer to your lease agreement. If you are not stipulating all your demands and standards in the lease agreement then you have a big problem because it is one of the usual mistakes of a landlord. Some places require you to have a standard type of lease agreement, but otherwise you can make your own or work with a lawyer to draft your own lease agreement.
A well-crafted rental lease agreement will make success and ease for the landlord. A good contract uses as a means of communication between you and your tenants, providing them with information about your demands and expectations. In case issues occur, it also helps as a guidebook. And before it will happen, a better lease agreement can help mitigates the problems.
Here are some of the tips on how to make a better lease agreement, so that you can save time, avoid trouble, and will not suffer headaches.
Customizing a Lease Agreement
Usually, a lease agreement is already a pre-made template legal papers that just needs to be customized according to the specifications of the lessor and the lessee. While it is true that you can save more time when you use a pre-made template but it is still necessary to create and customize your lease agreement to make it more as effective as possible. You should base your customized lease agreement on your state and local laws as well as to your specific lease agreement and requirements.
The lease agreement must be adapted to comply with state laws. Various countries have distinct laws for the security deposits, notice of entry and required disclosure. Make sure that if you are going to make your customized lease agreement that it will reflect to these laws by adding the correct disclosure and clauses. You may visit the local website of your city for you to know the most up-to-date local legislation and look for your residential landlord and tenant ordinance. Most cities also give an updated summary of changes.
Your lease agreement must also be customized to reflect the particular terms and conditions of your rental. When you have additional conditions for your tenants – such as a pet deposit, an automatic renewal clause, or if tenants will be paying rent online – then these rules should be added to your rental agreement. The more detailed your rental is, the better it helps fix issues before they occur, and when issues occur it functions as a rule book.
Necessary Clauses to Include in the Lease Agreement
You must add the appropriate clauses to make your lease agreement even better and effective. Clauses are one of the most useful ways to minimize legal issues. To safeguard you and your tenant from legal headaches, they are written in adequate legal jargon, so take advantage of them. Clauses make your lease agreement as an enhanced guidebook, which tells you how to manage a situation. And here are some of the most important clauses:
Severability clause
This clause assures that if one sentence, clause, phrase or portion of the lease agreement is considered as invalid, then the rest of the lease agreement will remain in effect unless otherwise proven. Essentially, the rest of the lease agreement will stay unaffected and will be enforceable by its rules. This would be important because it makes you prevent your whole lease agreement to be considered as invalid and puts you at a higher risk of legal problems.
Jointly and severally liable
It is the responsibility of every tenant who signs the lease agreement to pay their rent and uphold all components of the lease agreement. Jointly and severally is the legal jargon for both and equally. In other words, it is the responsibility of all the lessees to pay for the full rent amount each month.
Access to the premise
You are permitted to access your premises as a landlord, as long as it is within reasonable hours and with adequate notice. This clause also enables you to enter the property if in case there is an emergency without further notice.
Maintenance
It is also the responsibility of the tenant to keep your unit in condition, including devices, appliances, and even the detectors for smoke. If the unit has been damaged by the tenant, then they will be liable for any damages. This clause will let you continue to uphold their liability for damages if in case your tenant will move out. You can withdraw or charge the expense of damages from your security deposit, or if want, you can bill them directly. The typical and reasonable wear and tear are all right, but it is the responsibility of a tenant to fix any serious damages.
Attorney’s fees
If there is a lawsuit and you are the main party, then this clause will ensure you that the court will reward you with your legal charges.
Subletting
Plainly, this clause says that if a tenant intends to sublet, your approval will be needed.
Disturbance clause
It is necessary for a tenant to act in a manner that does not disturb the neighbors, particularly before certain hours. This clause can also be customized for you to indicate the hours that you are going to prohibit loud music, and other loud noises.
Holding over
This clause allows the assumption that the lease agreement works on a month-to-month basis if a tenant has not moved out by the moment their lease agreement is being terminated. According to the law, when the end date passes, the lease agreement is null and void, but with this provision or clause, it states that if the tenant remains, you better hold your legal rights. It is advisable to make a new month-to-month lease agreement, so that there will be no more ‘ assumptions, ‘ and this clause will protect you if in case you did not create a new lease agreement in time. The tenants are still responsible to pay their rental if they will remain in your unit after the date they are supposed to move out. The holding over clause also states that if the tenant wish to stay you can even double the monthly lease agreement, it means that their new rental payment will be double than the recent rental price.
Rent liability
For the period of time of the lease, the tenant is legally liable for paying rent as it is stated in the lease agreement. Even though this clause is quite simple, but still it is essential to be included so that there will be no confusion as to who is responsible.
Updating your rental lease agreement
You should consider updating the terms and conditions or the language of your lease statement each time you renew with an existing tenant or sign up with new tenants. The most updated are the best rental leases. Here are some ways on how you will update your lease agreement:
Update the rental terms:
This term involves names of tenants, dates of rental, co-signers, charges, and other more.
Update the rent price:
Based on market revisions, seasonality, and tenant demand, lease rates are commonly altered. But if you are not sure if you need to modify the price of your lease, then you can ask experts and even search online to determine the price of your lease.
Update the rules and requirements:
For example, you would like to begin in allowing animals but you will be charging more for the lease. Another instance is if you would want to add an Automatic Renewal Clause to automatically renew your lease.
Update to reflect the ever-changing landlord and tenant laws:
You should stay up-to-date with the most up-dated rules and regulation on lease agreement and you must also update your provisions if it is needed.
Conclusion
Lease agreement or tenancy contract is the best way to guarantee certainty. There can never be too much emphasis on the significance of a lease agreement. The omission of a lease agreement with a correctly drafted lease review provision limits the leverage and either party can have when it comes to lease review. It provides sufficient time for both sides to collect their reasons why the rent should be reviewed upwards or not. Moreover, the negotiations will not be as awkward or even one.
