This Agreement is entered into by [Landlord.FirstName] [Landlord.LastName] (“Landlord”) and [Tenant.FirstName] [Tenant.LastName] (“Tenant”) and outlines the rights and obligations of both parties relating to rental of property at the following address — property (“Rental Property”).
Landlord and Tenant are collectively referred to in this Residential Landlord-Tenant Agreement as the “Parties.” Both Parties have had an opportunity, before signing this document, to fully review it and consult with a lawyer, if desired. To the best of their understanding, this document accurately and fully describes the expectations and agreements between the Parties relating to the property for the duration of this Residential Landlord-Tenant Agreement.
This agreement is written for house or apartment (residential) rental, as opposed to the rental of commercial space. All standards, rights and legal provisions are included in this template, but you may choose to add more details at your own discretion, since this template is only a sample. Panda Doc allows you to share this document in both Word and PDF.
Landlord owns, or has authority to rent, the premises located at property which will be referred to in this Residential Landlord-Tenant Agreement as the “Rental Property.” The Rental Property is intended and/or zoned for residential use only.
According to the terms of this Agreement, Tenant agrees to rent the Rental Property from the Landlord for residential use, together with the following furnishings and/or appliances listed herein. Rental of the premises also includes the following ancillary use (list other use(s) and access areas available to Tenant).
The term of rental will start on (start date) and continue through (end date).
If the Tenant is unable to take possession of the Rental Property premises, or vacates the Rental Property before the end of the term of tenancy, Tenant will still be responsible for paying any outstanding amounts owed and/or the remainder of the rental payments in order to comply with the terms of this Agreement.
If Landlord is unable to deliver possession of the Rental Property premises for any reason outside of the control of the Landlord (for example, destruction of the building due to natural disaster), Tenant will have the right to terminate this Agreement upon written notice to the Landlord, and Landlord’s sole responsibility will be to return sums paid by Tenant for periods of time when Landlord is unable to deliver possession of the premises.
The point here is to acknowledge that sometimes things happen that would render it unfair for the Tenant to have to continue to pay rent. However, there should be a definitive amount of time allowed for the Tenant is to get their money back for any period when they could not live in the Rental Property.
Tenant will pay Landlord monthly rent of ($Amount), payable in advance no later than the first day of every month of the term of this Agreement. For the period from Tenant’s move-in date through the end of the month, Tenant will pay Landlord prorated monthly rent in the amount of prorated rent, which will be paid before Tenant moves in.
Payment of rent must be received by the Landlord at the following address [Landlord.StreetAddress] [Landlord.Country] [Landlord.State] [Landlord.PostalCode] , no later than the due date.
Rent payments may be made by personal check, money order, or cashier’s check, and made payable to [Landlord.FirstName] [Landlord.LastName] . The details of the payment schedule are as follows:
Description of first item
Description of second item
Description of third item
This schedule can be modified as needed — for example, many landlords will only have a monthly charge for parking and one-time cleaning fees or security deposits. Some rental properties have utilities included; others are structured so that the tenant is responsible for paying for all or some utilities separately. Customize this section to fit your specific needs.
If Tenant fails to pay the rent in full before the end of the first day of the month, Tenant will also be required to pay the Landlord a late charge of ($Amount), plus a daily late charge of ($Amount) for each additional day that the rent remains unpaid. The total late charge for any one month will not exceed the maximum of ($Amount).
Your state or city or state may have legal limitations on how much you may charge for late fees. If you don’t know what they are, be sure to find out before entering into a landlord-tenant agreement. Contracts are not allowed to punish people for being late with payments, but may assess fees that have some reasonable relationship to the impact on the non-offending party.
If any check for rent payment is returned for insufficient funds, a “stop payment,” or any other reason, Tenant will pay Landlord a returned check charge of ($Amount), as well as any late fees that accrue., as well as any late fees that accrue.
Make this charge an estimation of the cost to you if this happens, such as what bank charges would be assessed against you.
The Rental Property is to be used only as a private residence for Tenant and the following minor children (list number of minor children). Occupancy by guests for more than one week is prohibited without Landlord’s written consent.
Tenant, minor children identified herein, and guests or invitees, will not use the Rental Property for any illegal or nuisance activity, including, though not limited to, disturbing the peace and quiet enjoyment of the neighbors, possession or use of illegal substances. Tenant shall be responsible to the Landlord for the actions of Tenant’s guests and invitees. Tenant bears full responsibility for any and all property damage caused by Tenant, minor children, and/or any of Tenant’s guests.
Under some circumstances, you as a Landlord can have legal liability for criminal conduct on the premises, even if you didn’t directly cause it. Thus it is important to be aware of, and take action to stop, any illegal conduct occurring on your property.
No pets of any kind, other than for assistance with a physical handicap of Tenant or the minor children identified above, are allowed without prior, written consent from the Landlord. The Landlord may deny consent for any reason, or require a pet security deposit in the amount of ($Pet.Deposit).
Landlord hereby consents to the following pet(s) being kept in the Rental Property (list number of pets and type(s)).
Some cities and states place legal limitations on how much a landlord can charge as a pet deposit. It must be reasonably related to potential damage by the pet.
Waterbeds are not permitted without separate, written consent from the Landlord and providing proof of rental insurance covering any damages caused by said waterbed.
Tenant is not permitted to make any repairs or alterations to the Rental Property, or any appliances or fixtures therein, without prior consent from the Landlord. This includes painting the premises or all other prohibited alterations.
Sometimes rental agreements go so far as to prohibit even putting a nail in the wall to hang a picture. This may be a good place to add in information specific to this Rental Property.
Keys to the Rental Property belong to the Landlord and will be returned by Tenant to Landlord at the end of the tenancy. The Tenant will not modify or rekey any locks to the Rental Property, nor make any duplicate keys. In the event of the need for replacement keys or new locks, Tenant will request them from the Landlord.
If the Tenant fails to comply with the terms of this Agreement, or misrepresents any material fact on Tenant’s rental application, this Agreement can be terminated by the Landlord, with appropriate notice to Tenant and procedures required by law.
The procedures are not detailed here because each country, state, county and especially cities have very specific requirements. If you need to terminate a tenancy and begin eviction proceedings, you will need to consult with local and municipal laws/codes to get the specific procedures to follow.
Tenant may not assign this Agreement or sublet the Rental Property to anyone else without the advance written consent of the Landlord.
Upon signing this Agreement, Tenant will pay the Landlord a security deposit of ($Security.Deposit). This security deposit cannot be treated by Tenant as payment of the last month of rent or any other amounts due to the Landlord. Landlord shall keep security deposit funds in a trust account for the duration of the tenancy.
Usually security deposit funds are sometimes not required to be kept in a separate account or otherwise preserved for return to the tenant at the end of the lease; that said, a better practice would be to do so. Arguments over security deposits are commonplace when a landlord tries to increase charges to the departing tenant so the landlord does not have to come up with the money. It is far better business practice to keep security deposits in a fund to actually pay any costs appropriately charged against it, and give a fair refund.
Within 30 days of the Tenant vacating the Rental Property, returning keys to the Landlord and providing a forwarding address, Landlord will refund to Tenant the security deposit, less any amounts due from Tenant to Landlord for any of the following items: unpaid rent, unpaid late charges, cost of repair or cleaning above and beyond the ordinary wear and tear on the Rental Property. Landlord will provide Tenant with an itemized written statement of any funds withheld within this same time period.
Tenant is responsible to pay all utility bills except (list any included utilities), which will be paid by the Landlord. Tenant is required to provide utility services necessary to maintain the premises under the terms of this Agreement.
Tenant and Landlord will conduct a walk-through of the Rental Property before Tenant moves in to examine the premises. Tenant will examine the Rental Property, including appliances, fixtures, carpets, paint, etc., and will sign off on Rental Property to be safe and in clean condition and without need of any repair unless otherwise noted in writing to the Landlord within the first week of moving into the premises.
Tenant is responsible to keep the Rental Property clean, sanitary, and in good condition, and other than ordinary wear and tear, return the Rental Property to Landlord in the same condition as at the beginning of the lease.
Tenant is required to promptly notify Landlord of any dangerous conditions or defects found in the Rental Property, or arising during the term of this Agreement, whether pre-existing, caused by Tenant, minor children (if any), or guests, and whether negligently or intentionally caused.