Your Standard Lease Agreement and the Vital Details It Must Have

Preparing your standard lease agreement requires that you know all the important parts of a legal agreement. Your lease agreement will be not valid and ironclad unless you learn to understand every necessary ingredient.

Define the Sections of Your Rental Agreement

You should start drafting your standard lease agreement by first defining the sections that you will need. This includes the names of the people entering into the agreement, their signatures and your lease terms.

In a rental agreement you also need to include information about rent payments, defaulting on payment, deposits, use of the rental property, responsibilities and any other guidelines for the renting of your property.

Not only do you need to have all the important sections in your standard lease agreement, but you need to be sure that each section contains the required details.

What Your Should Include in Every Section

The names of the parties involved in the agreement will include anyone living at the rental property who are over the age of 18 years old. It should also include your name and names of any co-owner, if applicable. It is important to include all the relevant parties because these are the people who will be held legally responsible for your rental property.

The lease term should also be stated clearly. Make sure you specifically state the start and ending dates for the lease.

You need to handle the payment on rent thoroughly. You have to state how much the rent is, when it is due and give specifics about what will happen if it is late. Be specific and make sure that you state what constitutes a late payment.

If you are asking a deposit from your tenants, you must state how much the deposit was and the terms for return of the deposit. By law in most areas you are required to return that to the renter at the end of the lease term with some exceptions.

If you plan on charging fines, fees or other charges you will also have to put it down in writing. Be sure to state what are the exact charges you will impose.

You also need a section that spells out responsibilities for repairs, lawn care and other maintenance. Once again make sure that you are specific. You should state what you will take care of and what you are not responsible for.

Wrapping Up Your Standard Lease Agreement

Remember to grant yourself access to your rental property so that you can collect rent and make repairs as needed.

You should impose restrictions on the intended and proper use of your rental property so that you can protect yourself from nasty tenants who will abuse your rental home or harass the neighbours. This clause will be invaluable in case you will ever to evict anyone.

Preparing a standard lease agreement takes time but it is always worth the effor. Once your rental agreement is signed it will be a legally binding contract that both you and the tenants must follow. If you are unsure, it's always a good idea that you get a landlord tenant lawyer to look at it to make that it is valid and ironclad.

Teo Zhenjie has been showing landlords how to manage their tenants and rental property effectively on Propertydo Landlord Guides. Visit his website for step-by-step real estate guides, free resources and forms.