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Use a Written Lease or Rental Agreement

Here's why a handshake shouldn't seal the deal between landlords and tenants.

Renting your property without a clear rental agreement or lease is an invitation for trouble. The landlord-tenant relationship is complicated today, with laws and regulations governing all aspects of renting residential property. Landlords have more responsibilities, tenants have more rights, and small claims court makes it easy to take disputes to a judge. Don't take a chance -- use a legal, complete rental agreement or lease.

Avoid Disputes

A landlord who provides no written lease -- or one full of legal gobbledygook -- often finds that the result is chaos. What happens if the fine print in the lease (which neither the landlord nor the tenant actually reads) says no pets, but the landlord turned a blind eye to the cat when the tenant moved in? With no clear agreement written down, every small disagreement -- whether it's over repairs, the fee for a late rent check, or deductions made from a departing tenant's security deposit -- has the potential to escalate into a nasty legal battle.

Deal With Key Issues

In addition to heading off disputes, a good lease nudges the landlord to deal with key issues that might otherwise be overlooked before getting into the rental relationship. The result? Happier, stable tenants and satisfied landlords.

Create a Paper Trail

A solid, complete paper trail documenting who agreed to what is invaluable if disputes do develop -- for example, regarding the landlord's right to enter a tenant's unit to make repairs, or the time it took for the landlord to fix a problem. Oral promises are often legally binding, but it can be difficult if not impossible to prove them to a judge.

To read and printout a copy of the Form please link below.

Checklist: Before You Rent Out Your Property

You can download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader here.

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