Sample Lease Contract for Renting an Apartment

When the time comes to rent an apartment to a new tenant, landlords need to seal the deal with an official lease contract. Lease contracts are binding legal documents that detail the terms and conditions of the rental arrangement, such as the length of time your tenant will rent from you, the price of the rental unit, and more.

If you’re a new landlord or just want to streamline your lease creation process, read on. We’ll break down what a lease contract is, what it includes, and showcase a sample lease agreement for all your rental properties.

Lease Contracts Explained

In a nutshell, a lease contract or lease agreement is a legal document that outlines all the rental terms for commercial or residential real estate. Specifically, lease contracts include details like:

  • What the landlord or lessor charges to the renter or lessee to rent the property in question

  • How long the rental lease is good for (i.e. fixed-term or month-to-month lease, 12 months, two years, etc.)

  • What the landlord is responsible for providing

  • The eviction terms and conditions for the tenancy

Whenever you rent an apartment or other property to a tenant, you must have them sign a lease agreement. The lease agreement can be referred to in court if necessary and it serves as a guiding document for both you and any tenants during future dealings.

It’s important to craft a thorough, effective lease agreement since it protects both you and any tenants.

Types of Lease Agreements

As a landlord, you might need to produce several different types of lease agreements. The most common lease contracts include:

  • Standard leases, which are used for most rental residential properties or commercial lease agreements. These typically include terms of between 12 months and two years. However, you can draft a rental contract for any amount of time

  • Room leases for renting a single room within a home

  • Parking space leases, which are used to lease parking spaces on private properties

  • Month-to-month leases, which are short-term lease agreements if you only plan to lease property to tenants on a month-to-month basis

  • Lease to own leases, which give tenants the option to purchase property from a landlord

  • Weekly leases, which are used for vacation properties

  • Sublet leases, which are created by renters so they can add another renter to their leases

Key Parts of a Lease Contract

Most residential lease agreements contracts have several key elements. You should include these in your lease agreements no matter what.

  • Contact information for both landlords and tenants

  • Property details, including the address of the property, the square footage, any amenities, and any further identifiers

  • Rent details, including the monthly rent amount, how to pay rent and the due date for payments. Having a clear date when tenants need to pay rent is both required by federal law and makes it easier to enforce rental payments yourself or through property managers. Note that the amount of rent due should also be clear on your rental applications

  • The specifics, including the type of lease and the start and end dates for the terms of the lease

  • Rights and obligations for the landlord and tenants. Here, you’ll detail when/if you need to give notice before entering a tenant’s apartment

  • Dispute resolution steps (sometimes included in the addendum section of the rental contract, near the end)

  • Eviction procedures and rules, such as how many days late rent can be paid before the landlord starts the eviction process. You may also include early termination clauses, if applicable

  • Deposit and fees, such as the security deposit amount, late fees, or extra fees due upon lease signing

  • Occupancy limits and rules, such as whether tenants are allowed to house a friend or family member for more than a day or for some other period of time

  • Any other restrictions, such as whether tenants are allowed to install appliances or make changes to the property

  • Pet policies, including pet fees or whether pets are allowed on the property in question

  • Maintenance and repair policies, such as what repair tasks the landlord is responsible for

  • Utilities, including what utilities are provided to the property and what utilities the landlord pays for vs. what utilities are included in rental payments

  • Disclosures, which are legally required to make sure renters understand every aspect of a rental property before signing a lease. This is usually at the end of the lease

Standard Lease Contract vs. Rent-to-Own Lease Contract

Most lease contracts are standard – they do not include any provisions for tenants to eventually own the rented property. However, you might need to create a rent-to-own lease contract. Rent-to-own lease contracts, also called option to purchase lease agreements or lease-to-own agreements, give renters the option to purchase the property at a preset price later down the road.

For these contracts, renters usually pay option fees to the landlord to reserve the right to buy the property later. If the renter decides not to buy the property, the landlord gets to pocket the option fee. Most rent-to-own lease contracts are similar to standard lease contracts. They just include a few extra provisions to reflect on this unique situation.

Remember to Keep Lease Agreement Laws in Mind

While most lease contracts are similar to one another, local state laws could influence what you have to put on that document or what you may not include as a provision. Every state has its own lease laws and regulations regarding property rentals. Make sure you understand rental laws for your state as a landlord to ensure that your lease contract accounts for any legal necessities.

Depending on your state, your lease contract might have special laws for:

  • Security deposit amounts and where security deposit money may be kept

  • The rights of landlords and tenants

  • Late rent payments

  • Lease agreement violation rules

  • How much access landlords have to their properties when a tenant takes up residence

Sample Lease Agreement Template

Want to make things easier on yourself? Good news; you can find lots of high-quality lease agreement templates online. Here’s a recommended basic lease contract for renting an apartment.

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