Blog
Guides, tips, and state-specific information about lease agreements and rental transactions.
Should You Allow Subletting in Your Lease?
Banning sublets feels safe, but a flat no can backfire when a tenant has to move and does it anyway without telling you. The smarter move for most landlords is not yes or no, it is a clause that allows subletting only with your written approval, on your terms.
Jill Stradley · June 22, 2026 at 1:41 PM ET 
What a Move-In Checklist Is and Why Your Lease Needs One
A move-in checklist is a written record of the unit's condition on the day you take the keys, and it is the single best protection you have against a security deposit dispute later. It protects the landlord too, by documenting what was already damaged before you arrived. Some states actually require one in writing, and here is how to use it well.
Jill Stradley · June 21, 2026 at 7:22 PM ET 
What Landlords Must Disclose About Mold and Lead Paint
Two disclosures sit in a category of their own because one is federal law with real penalties and the other is a growing patchwork of state rules. Get the lead paint disclosure wrong on an older home and the fines are severe. Mold is murkier, but ignoring it is its own risk.
Paul Oak · June 19, 2026 at 2:32 PM ET 
How to Prorate Rent for a Mid-Month Move-In
When a tenant moves in partway through the month, charging a full month is unfair and charging nothing leaves money on the table. Prorating splits the difference by the day, and the only real question is which method you use to do the math. Here is how to get it right.
Jill Stradley · June 18, 2026 at 11:47 AM ET 
Can You Have Two Tenants on One Lease? Joint and Several Liability Explained
When roommates sign one lease, a phrase most of them never notice decides what happens if one stops paying. Joint and several liability means each tenant can be held responsible for the entire rent, not just their share. It is the most important clause nobody reads.
Paul Oak · June 17, 2026 at 12:15 PM ET 
What Is a Grace Period for Rent and How Long Should It Be?
A rent grace period is one of the most misunderstood lines in a lease. Tenants think it means rent is not really due until it ends, landlords think it is optional, and some states quietly require one. Here is what a grace period actually is and how to set one that holds up.
Jill Stradley · June 16, 2026 at 12:36 PM ET 
How to Write a Pet Addendum for Your Lease
Letting a tenant keep a pet without putting the terms in writing is how a friendly yes turns into a chewed door and an argument over who pays. A pet addendum spells out the rules, the fees, and the consequences, so everyone knows where they stand before the dog moves in.
Paul Oak · June 15, 2026 at 12:32 PM ET 
How to Write a Sublease Agreement That Protects You
Subleasing can rescue you from paying for an apartment you are not using, but it can also leave you on the hook for a subtenant who stops paying or trashes the place. In a sublease you stay responsible to your landlord for everything, which is exactly why the agreement has to be built to protect the original tenant.
Paul Oak · June 12, 2026 at 1:14 PM ET 
Month-to-Month vs. Fixed-Term Lease: Which Is Right for You?
A fixed-term lease and a month-to-month agreement are not just different lengths of the same thing. They protect you in opposite directions, one buying certainty and the other buying flexibility. The right choice depends entirely on which of those you value more, and the trade-off looks different for a tenant than for a landlord.
Jill Stradley · June 11, 2026 at 11:57 AM ET 
Can a Landlord Enter Without Notice? Tenant Rights by State
Your landlord owns the building, but once you sign a lease, the right to enter is not unlimited. A legal right to privacy comes with the tenancy. Here is when a landlord can come in, how much notice they owe you, the one situation where they can walk in unannounced, and what to do if they overstep.
Paul Oak · June 10, 2026 at 1:06 PM ET 
New York Lease Agreement Requirements: What Landlords Must Include
New York rewrote much of its rental rulebook with the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, and the changes reach every residential lease in the state. A lease drafted from an out-of-state template or an old form can quietly violate current law, and in New York that is an expensive thing to get wrong.
Paul Oak · June 9, 2026 at 12:09 PM ET 
How Much Can a Landlord Raise the Rent? Rules by State
There is no single national answer to how much a landlord can raise the rent. In most of the country there is no cap on the amount, only rules about when and how. In a handful of places there are hard limits. Knowing which situation you are in is what keeps a routine increase from becoming a legal problem.
Jill Stradley · June 8, 2026 at 12:05 PM ET 
How to Draw Up a Simple Lease Agreement
A lease can be one page and still hold up, or ten pages and fall apart. Here are the 10 things a simple lease needs, and the one most people leave out.
Jill Stradley · June 5, 2026 at 12:25 PM ET 
Is a Lease Agreement a Legal Document?
Understanding why a lease is a legal document, and what that actually means for both sides, matters more than most people realize until they end up in a dispute...
Jill Stradley · June 4, 2026 at 12:11 PM ET 
How to Create a Lease Agreement Online (And Make Sure It Holds Up)
You can create a lease agreement online in a few minutes, and it is just as binding as one a lawyer drafts. The difference between a lease that protects you and one that doesn't comes down to what goes into it and whether it follows your state's rules. Here's how to get it right.
Paul Oak · June 3, 2026 at 12:26 PM ET 
What Are the 4 Types of Leases?
When people search for the four types of leases, they usually mean the four ways a residential tenancy can be structured under landlord-tenant law. Each one creates a different relationship between landlord and tenant, with different rules for how long it lasts, how it ends, and what notice is required. Knowing which one you have, or which one you want, determines what document you need and what rights each side has...
Paul Oak · June 2, 2026 at 1:25 PM ET 
Can I Write My Own Lease Agreement?
You can write your own lease agreement. There is no law requiring a lease to be drafted by an attorney, and a lease you write yourself is just as legally binding as one a lawyer charged you $500 to produce. The question is not whether you are allowed to. The question is whether the lease you write will actually hold up when you need it to, and that is where most do-it-yourself leases fail.
Jill Stradley · June 1, 2026 at 11:51 AM ET 
What Happens to a Lease If the Landlord Dies?
When a landlord dies, the lease does not die with them. This surprises a lot of tenants who assume the agreement was personal to the individual they signed with. It was not. A lease is a contract attached to the property, not to the person who owned it. The tenant's right to occupy the unit and the obligations on both sides continue after the landlord's death, transferring to whoever inherits or controls the property next...
Jill Stradley · May 29, 2026 at 1:02 PM ET 
What Happens If a Landlord Breaks the Lease?
Most lease discussions focus on what happens when a tenant violates the agreement. But landlords break leases too, and when they do, tenants have real legal remedies. A landlord who sells the property mid-lease, enters without notice repeatedly, fails to make required repairs, or tries to force a tenant out without going through proper eviction procedures is in breach of the lease. What the tenant can do about it depends on how serious the breach is, what the lease says, and what state the property is in...
Paul Oak · May 28, 2026 at 12:08 PM ET 
Can a Landlord Say No to an Emotional Support Animal?
A no-pets policy does not apply to emotional support animals. That is the short answer. The longer answer is that landlords can say no in a small number of specific situations, and understanding where those exceptions start and stop is important for both sides of a lease. Getting this wrong is expensive. A landlord who denies a legitimate ESA request can face a federal Fair Housing Act complaint, civil liability, and HUD investigation. A tenant who misrepresents documentation to obtain ESA accommodation is committing fraud...
Paul Oak · May 27, 2026 at 1:56 PM ET 
How Much Can a Landlord Charge for a Broken Window?
A broken window is one of the most common move-out disputes between landlords and tenants. The landlord wants to charge for it. The tenant says it was already cracked when they moved in, or that it broke on its own, or that it is normal wear and tear. Who is right depends on how the window broke, what the lease says, and whether the landlord documented the window's condition at move-in...
Jill Stradley · May 26, 2026 at 1:47 PM ET 
What Can a Landlord Do if a Tenant Leaves Without Paying Rent and Breaks the Lease?
A tenant who skips out mid-lease without paying rent is one of the more frustrating situations a landlord faces. The unit is suddenly vacant, income has stopped, and the person who owes you money is gone. The good news is that leaving does not erase the debt. A signed lease is a binding contract and a tenant who walks away from it is still legally obligated for the rent and other costs they left behind. Whether you can actually collect is a different question, but the legal path to recovery is real...
Jill Stradley · May 25, 2026 at 2:03 PM ET 
NCGS § 42-14 Explained: What North Carolina's 7-Day Notice Rule Means for Landlords and Tenants
Most landlords and tenants in North Carolina assume month-to-month rentals require 30 days notice to terminate. That assumption is wrong, and it catches people off guard in both directions. The actual statutory minimum under North Carolina General Statutes § 42-14 is seven days. Not 30. Not 15. Seven days notice is all that is required to end a month-to-month tenancy in North Carolina, making it one of the shortest termination notice periods of any state in the country...
Paul Oak · May 22, 2026 at 12:30 PM ET 
Who Pays When Furnished Furniture Gets Damaged in a Rental?
A broken bed frame. A stained sofa. A television with a cracked screen. In a furnished rental, damage to the landlord's property is one of the most disputed move-out situations there is. Both sides usually believe they are right, and without the right documentation, neither can prove it. The answer to who pays almost always comes down to two things: what the lease says and what was documented at move-in...
Jill Stradley · May 21, 2026 at 1:57 PM ET 
What Is the Maximum Late Fee in New York?
New York has one of the strictest late fee laws in the country. The cap is low, the grace period is mandatory, and a landlord who has been charging above the limit on every late payment has been collecting illegal fees that a tenant can demand back. If you are a landlord in New York and you have not checked your lease against the current statute, it is worth doing before the next late payment arrives...
Jill Stradley · May 20, 2026 at 2:11 PM ET 
How Long Can a Guest Stay Before Becoming a Tenant in Georgia?
Georgia law does not set a specific number of days after which a guest automatically becomes a tenant. There is no statute that says 14 days, 30 days, or any other fixed threshold. What Georgia law does recognize is that when a person establishes residency in a rental unit, they may acquire tenant rights regardless of whether they are named on the lease or have any formal agreement with the landlord. The line between guest and tenant is behavioral, not just calendrical, and the lease is the document that defines it...
Paul Oak · May 19, 2026 at 12:41 PM ET 
How Much Notice Does a Landlord Have to Give in California?
California has more notice requirements than almost any other state, and they vary depending on what the notice is for. Entry, rent increases, termination, eviction, sale of the property — each has its own timeline, its own rules, and its own consequences for getting it wrong. A landlord who gives 30 days notice when 90 are required does not just lose the case. In some situations the notice is void and the clock starts over...
Jill Stradley · May 18, 2026 at 1:22 PM ET 
What to Include in a Lease for a Furnished Rental
Renting a furnished unit creates a layer of complexity that a standard lease is not built to handle. The furniture and appliances are your property. They are inside the tenant's home. When something breaks, gets damaged, or goes missing, the question of who is responsible comes down entirely to what the lease says about it. A standard residential lease template addresses the unit. A furnished rental lease has to address everything inside it too...
Paul Oak · May 15, 2026 at 5:28 PM ET 
What Happens If a Tenant Signs a Lease and Never Moves In?
A tenant signs the lease, pays the deposit, maybe even pays first month's rent. Then they disappear. They never pick up the keys, never move in, and stop responding. Or they call a week later saying they changed their mind and want out. Either way, you have a signed lease, an empty unit, and a tenant who has decided the arrangement is not happening...
Jill Stradley · May 14, 2026 at 1:05 PM ET 
Can a Landlord Require Renters Insurance in the Lease?
Yes, a landlord can require renters insurance as a condition of the lease in every U.S. state. There is no federal law prohibiting it and no state that bans the practice. If the lease says the tenant must carry renters insurance, maintain a minimum coverage amount, and provide proof of the policy within a specified number of days, those are enforceable lease terms the same as any other...
Paul Oak · May 13, 2026 at 3:16 PM ET