Residential Lease Agreement: An essential contract to rent a property

A Residential Lease Agreement is a legally binding contract that is signed between 2 parties – the tenant/resident and the owner/landlord of the rental unit or property. This contract specifies the rights of both the tenant and the landlord. The contract specifies the time during which the resident/residents can occupy the rental unit by paying an agreed upon rent every month.

Information required for a Rental Lease Agreement

A Rental Lease Agreement requires the following information.

• The date on which the agreement is signed (to mention the day, month and year)

• The name of the landlord

• The name of the tenant

• Location of the rented property

• The day from which the agreement will start (to mention the day, month and year)

• The month on which the agreement will end (to mention the day, month and year)

• The monthly rental amount that the tenant has to pay

• The late fee amount on per day basis

• The amount of service for the dishonored cheques

• Pre-payment rental discount amount if rent is paid before 1st day of the month

• Total number of adults residing in the rental property

• Total number of children residing in the rental property

• The names of the residents

• The name and description of the pet (if pets are allowed)

• The security deposit amount

• Signature of the tenant/tenants with date

• Signature of the landlord with date

By signing the agreement, the landlord and the tenant/tenants accept the terms and conditions as it is a legally binding contract. Therefore, it is advisable that both the parties take legal help before signing the contract.

Exhibits of the agreement

There may be certain exhibits of the Residential Lease Agreement as given below.

• Landlord’s furniture used by the tenant – The landlord may give some furniture to the tenant on loan and the latter is supposed to maintain them at his/her own expense. Both the parties sign an agreement where it is mentioned that the landlord has every right to enter the rental premises and remove the listed furniture from the rental unit if the tenant fails to pay the rent by the 5th of the month.

• Pet Agreement – Both the owner and the tenant need to sign a Pet Agreement if the tenant/tenants desire to keep a pet in the rental unit. However, the tenant has to pay an additional rent per pet every month. Moreover, the tenant has to pay an additional amount as the security deposit in order to repair any damage caused by the pet/pets.

A Residential Lease Agreement gets automatically renewed every year unless it is terminated in writing. A tenant has to give a written notice at least 30 days prior to moving out of the rented property. Usually, he/she has to give the notice at the 1st day of the month, failing in which, the notice period starts from the 1st day of the next month. The landlord can also increase the rent any time after the completion of the 1st year of the lease agreement.