Lease Agreement

A lease agreement is a contract between two or more parties, a lessor (landlord) and a lessee (tenant), whereby the lessee is granted access to a property for a certain amount of time. There are usually certain conditions attached to this agreement regarding how and by whom the property may be used. 

What is a lease? 

A lease agreement is an agreement made between a landlord and a tenant which covers the renting period of a property. In comparison to rental agreements, a lease has a set term, often for long periods of time, usually a period of 1 year, during which the tenant agrees to lease the property. The lease is therefore very specific regarding the responsibilities of both parties during the lease and it includes all the necessary terms to provide protection to both parties. During the duration of the lease, both must respect the agreement. For example, if the tenants agree to make quarterly or monthly payments and follow the other obligations in the lease.The length of a lease and the monthly rent installments are fixed and cannot be changed easily during the rental period. This ensures the landlord can't randomly increase the rent fee. On the other hand, the tenant also cannot just leave the property earlier without any consequence. The lease agreement is effective for the specific time mutually agreed and is then considered ended. If the tenants wish to remain in the property, both parties must enter into a new lease or rental agreement. So, therefore, neither party is able to change any terms until the lease period expires. Unless both parties mutually agree to change the terms.

However, the moment the lease agreement expires the landlord is not obligated to renew the lease again based on the same terms. There is an option to change terms and rental amounts if desired. For this reason, some tenants prefer to sign a longer-term lease if the monthly rent is very reasonable and in an area where rents are likely to increase during the term of the lease. Leases are useful for those landlords who want to lock in a tenant for a specific period of time. If you have a mortgage payment to meet, for instance, knowing you willl have a tenant for the next year can help you budget your expenses. Most tenants are familiar with long-term leases and will not have a problem committing or rent values rise. 

What Should I Include in a Lease Agreement?

Tips on how to write the best lease:

• Make sure to include All Responsible Parties; When there are multiple adult individuals occupying the leased premises, it is important that they be listed as tenants or lessees. This is to ensure that they are jointly liable for any breach of the lease contract. Naturally, the lessor or landlord(s) must also be duly listed on the lease contract to clearly indicate who is liable for any breaches that apply on the landlord’s end. For the sake of being most informative, you can include pertinent contact information such as addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses.

• Be Clear with All Payment and Deposit; It seems like a no-brainer, but it still has to be emphasized how important it is to include all monetary provisions in a lease contract. Apart from the amounts that must be paid as rent and as a security deposit, other information that must be included in the frequency of payment (monthly, quarterly, semiannually, or annually), fees, penalties for late payments, acceptable modes of payment (post-dated checks, bank deposit, etc.), and where transactions must take place if applicable, among other stipulations.

• Summarize Other Fees; It is important to outline other fees or services that may come up during the lease, and clearly, indicate which party is responsible for each. Are there utility bills, connection fees, or other charges from you or outside providers? Who is responsible for what types of maintenance and which costs? What are and how much are the fees in the instance any of the terms in the contract are breached? Be especially forthcoming about fees that may not immediately come to mind for tenants, like those for parking privileges, Internet access, and condo fees. Not informing them could mean you run the risk of having to make the payments yourself.

• Include All Possible Rules, Disclaimers, Limitations, and Policies; Make sure that it is clearly stated in your policies how the leased property can or cannot be used or occupied. This includes policies on subletting, pets, if and how many visitors are allowed, if alterations or improvements can be done on the property, and the like. When all this information is clearly detailed in the lease contract, the lessees will not have the opportunity to feign ignorance of the rules should issues arise.

After downloading this sample lease rental agreement template and filling in the blanks, you can easily customize the style, typography, details, and appearance of your Lease template. If this isn't the right letter that you are looking for, then certainly take a look at the other letters that Bizzlibrary.com has to offer. We have many letters ranging from cover letters to business letters and thank you notes.