A standard lease agreement is an effective communication tool between you and your tenants. It is a legal document that guides you and your tenants about roles and duties to be followed during the tenancy. However, it can be challenging for you to cover all essential rules, clauses, obligations and laws in a lease agreement.
We recommend you go through the following clauses and terms that you should include in a basic lease agreement.
Be Specific About Rental Terms
Your lease agreement should include basic rental terms in a standard lease format. It should start with the name and number of occupants followed by the duration of the tenancy, contact number, current mailing and email address of the tenants, limit of occupancy, beginning date and end date, and lease renewal terms. You should also include property details, such as the location, house number, street name, town, state, and postal code at the beginning of the agreement.
Mention Rent, Security Deposit, And Extra Fees
Next, include the monthly rent amount, security deposit, and late rent payment fees in your lease agreement. Your tenants should agree with the rent amount you have decided. Make sure you discuss all the charges clearly with your applicants before mentioning them as tenants in the lease agreement. Also, it is necessary to specify the mode of rent payment, state laws on paying rent, and the charges for late rent payment to avoid confusion.
Include Tenant Responsibilities For Your Visalia Unit
You can include all tenant responsibilities at the beginning of the tenancy to avoid confusion later about their distribution. For instance, you can provide them with guidelines for maintaining the yard, throwing out the trash, keeping the premises clean and safe and disposing of the garbage regularly. They should treat the property with care and dignity, follow their duties, and comply with all the clauses mentioned in the lease.
Add The Standard Clauses In The Lease
Standard clauses cover a significant part of a lease agreement. It is necessary to add these specific clauses to mitigate legal problems occurring during the tenancy. There are a few significant clauses every lease agreement should include, such as:
- Liability clause
- Severability clause
- Accessibility clause for landlords
- Lessee to maintain
- Legal fees
- Disturbance clause
- Eviction clause
Include Additional Rules And Policies
All tenancy rules and policies are your best defense against rent-withholding issues or conflicts over repair costs. It helps you justify your point whenever problems with tenants occur. Make sure you include pet policies if you do not allow pets on the premises, a maintenance or repair policy to state who will be responsible for repairing the damage, and other addenda such as the house rules on smoking, parties, guests, and so on.
Also, make sure to add a no-illegal activity policy to protect your property from being misused for criminal activities.
Visalia Landlords’ Right To Enter The Property
As a landlord, you have a right to enter the property in case of emergencies or to show the property to other tenants. However, you need to send the current tenants a notice 24 hours in advance. To avoid any ambiguity regarding your visiting privileges, add a clause clarifying your access to the property. You can even mention different policies in case of different situations, like an emergency, along with what qualifies as that situation.
It is good to use online lease agreement templates as they are easy to customize, store, and securely backed up. Instead of the repetitive hassle of emailing or faxing a lease, you can send a ready-to-sign lease directly to your tenants’ box.
However, if you want a truly airtight lease, a trusted property management company is your best option. At the Equity Group, we can help you draft a comprehensive lease agreement and provide in-depth solutions to all your rental problems. We provide exclusive property management services to Visalia investors, landlords, tenants and focus on fulfilling their requirements. For more information, connect with us at The Equity Group.
