What is a lease agreement?
A rental or lease agreement is a formal legally binding contractual agreement which is issued to any individual who intends on renting out property direct from the owner or from a real estate company, and can be rented out for residential or commercial purposes. Furthermore, there is no distinct difference between a rental agreement or a lease agreement. There are different types of lease or rental agreement which include the standard lease agreement, month-to-month lease agreement, short-term vacation rentals such as fully furnished holiday apartments etc., and rent-to-own lease agreement.
Note
As a standard requirement, the renter usually pays 1st month's rent and a security deposit at the signing of the contract.
What Are The Different Types of Properties That Can Be Rented Out?
In order to cater for every kind of consumer, owners who are formally referred to as “landlords”, have made it possible for clients who are referred to as “tenants” to rent different types of properties such house, apartment, basement, condo, duplex, mobile home, room, townhouse or commercial property which include warehouses, office buildings etc. The tenant and landlord will negotiate the terms and conditions of the contract to reach a mutual agreement and once signed, the agreement will be deemed as legally and mutually binding.
The Importance of our Free Lease Agreement Template
Rental agreements are one of the most important contractual documents a tenant can have as it provides grounds for protection against any legal issues that may arise. It provides protection for both the landlord and the tenant. A written lease agreement is recommended to a verbal agreement because important details can be forgotten, and this will result in disputes between the landlord and tenant. Using our Free Rental Lease Agreement Templates can make the renting process smooth and make it easy for both parties in term of crafting a contract from the scratch.
The Common Leasing Process and Steps To Do
We have summarized and provided simple guideline steps for you to follow:
1. Make an appointment
The potential renter must schedule an appointment to view the property, and pick a time which suits both parties. After viewing the property, the potential renter will make an offer to the real estate agent or landlord.
2. Fill in a Rental application
Once the offer is accepted, the landlord or the agent will require the tenant to submit the Rental Application Form and also make payment of a fee(to cover the costs of viewing the property and processing a background check on the potential lessee).
3. Run and review the background check
The landlord or the estate agency should now run a background check and review the tenants identity, credit record, and criminal history. This is to verify that the potential tenant is a suitable match.
If the potential tenant(s) meet the landlord’s qualifications, a lease agreement or a month to month rental agreement should be drafted by the landlord for review before signing. Both parties should meet to discuss the specific terms and conditions of the lease, mainly consisting of the following:
- All the additional Fee(s) – Associated with parking and trash removal fees.
- Monthly Rent Amount ($) – the agreed amount by both parties mentioned in the agreement.
- Start Date – The day the tenant will occupy the property.
- Security Deposit – The landlord has the right to determine how much the deposit should be but it cannot be more than the maximum amount required by the applicable State.
- Lease or rental Term – Whether the lease term will be yearly or a month to month rental.
- Utilities – All the utilities which the tenant will be liable to pay on a monthly basis must be listed in the lease agreement such as water, heating, electricity, gas and sewer fees, and any fees regarded as utility fees.
- Conditions – Any 🔗special conditions such as rules on subletting need to be specified in the lease agreement or the month to month rental agreement. The other conditions might include but are not limited to any rules on owning pets, any rules on smoking (for example if the tenant will be made liable to clean the carpet if it has a cigarette smell), default of payment and 🔗late payment penalties, cleaning fees after the tenants move out.
4. Executing the lease
After the lease has been signed, the renter/lessee will have to pay the first month's rent and deposit. The landlord will only hand over the keys to the property after payment has been received.
5. Taking occupancy
Before the tenants occupy the property, an inspection of the property must be done. A 🔗move-in inspection checklist is recommended for this task. Both the landlord (or estate agent) and tenant must ensure that any damage is recorded on the checklist, and that they have both signed the checklist.
6. End of the lease
When the duration of the rental agreement ends, the landlord is permitted by State Law to provide the tenant with information regarding the possibilities of an extended lease term. The information which the landlord can give to the leaseholder includes but is not limited to lease renewal period, new rental amount if applicable, if the tenant has to pay any additional amounts such as security deposit, utility deposit, etc. and date of commencement when the new lease extension agreement became officially and legally effective.
In the scenario that the lessee or the landlord decides not to renew the lease agreement, both parties must ensure that they send a Non-Renewal Letter which you can use our editable templates to create one.
Highlight
If you want to 🔗sublease your rental unit in the future, we recommend checking your lease agreement carefully to see if it allows you to do so or not before signing. To avoid any troubles, reach an agreement with your landlords and state it on the contract to sublet legally.
Free Lease agreement templates
Using one of our Free Rental Lease Agreement Templates can help you create your contract immediately in just a few minutes.
- Click the “Go To Lease Agreement Templates” button to select a template to edit.
- Fill in your information by answering our short questionnaire.
- Review your contract and download it as a high-quality PDF which is viewable on any compatible PDF reader device.
Leasing Agreement Template (Two Pages)
Simple Rental Lease Agreement template (One Page)
What is the Difference Between A Lease and Rent?
Before selecting a Free Rental Agreement Form Template for your personal use, is it of extreme importance for you to fully understand the difference between a renting and a lease contractual agreement? Are you renting your home, or are you leasing it? The critical difference between a lease and rent is their length of time. To remove all confusion which you might have, both terms have been explained below:
What Does Rent Mean?
Renting agreement is a formal agreement which refers to the short-term arrangement, usually 30 days to 6 months, often on a month-to-month basis of one party residing or using a piece of property owned by another party, such as a house, office building, storage unit, duplex, mobile home, condo, townhouse, room, or apartment.
For instance, if you are self-employed or a remote worker, you are not confined to a specific location. If you want to experience different living environments in terms of a different city, state or country you can do this through short term rentals. If this describes you, then you may want to opt for a month-to-month rental agreement when moving in because it’s more flexible.
Remember that the landlord has the right to change the rental agreement terms while renting, such as rent increase, not renewing the contract, etc., depending on the situation. Additionally, it is important to note that a legal standard rental agreement is valid starting from the period of one month.
Then, What Does Lease Mean?
A lease agreement covers a more extended period known as the “term.” Regarding real estate, a lease term can last one year or more depending on the period of the Rental Lease Agreement which has been stated by the landlord or owner of the property. The lease agreement will not automatically be extended past the term’s due date. Furthermore, this legally binding contract requires that a lease renewal is written and signed in order for the tenant or tenants occupying the property to continue using the property.
In some cases, the lessor agrees to include a clause allowing the renter to continue a month-to-month rental tenancy agreement after the lease term ends.
The lessor can use the lease to cover all types of property, such as:
- Commercial Real Estate
- Land
- Houses
- Apartments
- Furniture
- Vehicles
- Tools or Equipment
Note
It is important to note that neither the landlord or tenant can make amendments to the lease or rental agreement once it has been finalized and signed by both parties. However, there are exceptions which permit the modification of a lease agreement. Only if both the landlord and the tenant have agreed to the modification of the lease, inorder for all the changes to be valid and not null and void.
Conclusion
We have provided customizable standard lease agreement templates which can be used to meet your requirements. Whether you are a tenant who is searching for a contract sample between roommates you can find roommate contract templates as a reference.
If you are looking to downsize due to an empty nest or you just want a new start through a new home. Our Free Rental Lease Agreement Templates have been professionally written to get you started and add a stress free component.
