How to Change the Terms of a Lease

Contracts are a regular part of living and doing business. One contract most of us have entered into at one time in our lives is a lease: a contract for the use of property. During the course of a lease, you may wish to change the terms of the lease. The following practical tips will help you protect yourself when changing the terms of your lease.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Changes to the lease in writing
• Your original lease

1. Read your lease. In many states, contracts cannot be changed orally. Further, your lease may include a provision declaring that the lease document is the entire contract between the lessor and lessee. Your lease may include a provision specifying how to change your lease. Usually this sort of provision requires the change to be in writing.

2. Regardless of whether your lease has a provision that requires changes to the terms of the lease to be in writing, it is a good idea to put it in writing. If your lease does not specify how to change its terms, write a letter to the other party confirming the change. Keep a copy of the letter with your lease.

3. In some states, or based on the provisions in the lease, a letter reflecting the changes is not sufficient to change the terms of the lease. You must put the change in writing and both the lessor and lessee must sign the changes.

4. Keep the addendum to the lease with your original lease.

Tips & Warnings

• If you verbally changed your lease, try to establish a pattern of agreement for the change. In other words, act in accordance to the verbal change to the lease. Keep records of your actions and the other party’s actions. While you may not have the change in writing, you can show the other party acquiesced to the change with these records.
• While verbally discussing the changes to the lease may be easy, an oral agreement will not be binding in most cases.