Standard Apartment Lease



An apartment lease is the most important document while you move in a rental property or someone moves in your property on rent. This is a legal document that holds the terms and conditions and is signed by both the landlord or the housing management and the tenants. To maintain transparency, to protect the property and to avoid unwanted disputes regarding the stay and use of this property it is necessary to follow a few ground rules. Therefore, when writing the agreement, you need to keep certain points in mind. Some of these points will be discussed here in the article.



- This particular point is applicable to both the property owner and the tenant. Oral commitment has no legal value. Thus, whatever both the parties agree upon must be on paper. There will be legal and technical jargons used through out the agreement. Read thoroughly, ask someone to explain if you do not understand any clause and then sign it.

- The lease starts with the date on which the agreement is signed. This is the official date since when you are allowed to use the rented property. A standard apartment lease must include the names of all tenants because only the listed people will be taken into account in case of any legal purpose.

- The lease agreement must hold the detailed address of the property including the house number, street name and number, city or town, county and the zip code.

- Describe the property including the added features like garage, basement washer etc. Also include the number of rooms in the apartment and the conditions of its use by the tenant. The portions not permitted to be used must be mentioned clearly as well. This is an important clause and its absence can cause dispute in future.

- Amount of the rent and mode of payment should be explicitly described in the agreement to avoid any confusion. It should also mention of the tenant is required to pay the rent bi-weekly or monthly.