People who don’t have their own houses choose to rent a property. The owner of the property is known as the landlord or the lessor while the person who wishes to rent the said property is called the tenant or the lessee.
Both parties,
the landlord and the tenant, agree with certain terms and conditions in renting a place which are clearly stated in a standard rental agreement. The rental agreement is one of the many available landlord forms primarily used as a reference when landlord-tenant disputes would arise. It is a legal contract that landlords and tenants adhere to. Since it’s a legal form or document, comprehensive and standardized rental agreement should be used in compliant with your state’s landlord-tenant laws.
As a legal form, rental agreements basically contain the following information:
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- Names of the parties (lessor and lessee) involved
- Agreed rental fees
- Lease term
- What happens at the end of the lease term
- Persons responsible for repairs and the utilities
- Late rental fees
- Grace period for late rental payments
Another landlord form which landlords should take time to consider is the eviction notices and notices to quit. Eviction notices are written when tenants fall behind on their rental payments of when they are not able to abide by the rental terms and conditions. Through these notices, the tenant is notified to solve their payment problem or vacate the property within a given time. The time is based on the state’s landlord-tenant laws.
Landlords come up with eviction notices when tenants fail to pay their rents. Aside from this, tenants who do not follow the landlord’s rules and regulations/ terms and conditions are possibly evicted. Examples of possible tenant mistakes are:
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- Keeping of pets
- Permitting other occupants to reside in the property
- Damaging the property
For tenants, they still have enough time to find all means in order to solve such payment problems. They should be sure not to waste time by coming up with the payments during the allowable grace period.
Another landlord form is the unlawful detainer notice. This is given to any tenant who has not resolved his payment problems despite of the chances that are given to him. It’s a landlord’s last resort to have an uncooperative tenant vacate the property.
As landlords, you should always remember that landlord forms are your best buddies. Everything has to be documented to avoid further conflicts.
Legal forms vary from state to state and of their purposes. Thus, you should be careful enough in choosing a landlord form.
So, if you’ve got an office space or an apartment or just about any property, come up with a rental agreement now! It’s your security as a landlord and a tenant!
