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How to Draft a Lease for Your Rental Property

Contributor
By eHow Contributing Writer
(19 Ratings)

If you're renting out property, it's important to draft a rental contract that spells out the responsibilities of both the landlord and tenant.

Difficulty: Moderately challenging
Instructions

Things You'll Need:

  • Real Estate Attorneys
  1. Step 1

    Visit an office supply store or consult Internet sites to obtain a fill-in-the-blank rental form that is tailored to your state's rental laws.

  2. Step 2

    Prepare a rental contract, based on the fill-in-the-blank form, that spells out the responsibilities of both the landlord and tenant.

  3. Step 3

    Specify all payment terms in the lease, including due dates, payment methods, late fees, grace periods, penalties and the period of time (such as 1 year, 6 months, month-to-month) covered by the lease.

  4. Step 4

    Determine specific provisions to include in the lease, such as who pays for utilities, taxes, maintenance and repairs, and policies about pets, sub-leasing and inspections.

  5. Step 5

    Include terms in the lease about security deposits, stating when the deposit will be returned and the conditions for a full or partial refund.

  6. Step 6

    Hire a local attorney to review your rental contract and to verify that the document meets all state and local rental laws.

Tips & Warnings
  • Since a lease is a legal document, paying an attorney to review the draft of your lease is money well spent.
  • Landlord-tenant laws can be confusing and complex. Make sure your lease covers all the bases by consulting a local attorney.

Comments  

gbaker50 said

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on 10/17/2009 If you're looking for an inexpensive lease to use for your rental property go to: http://www.bealandlord.net You can get a full lease for $8.95. Cheaper than Legal Zoom.

ceoralee said

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on 4/30/2007 I used RocketLawyer.com to make a lease and it was easy. Here is a link to Rocket Lawyer's rental property lease documents:
http://www.rocketlawyer.com/landing/landing-real-estate.aspx

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