Jill Stradley
Jill Stradley covers landlord-tenant law, lease agreements, and the fine print that renters and landlords skip until something goes wrong. Her goal is to make state-specific rental law readable for people who aren't lawyers and don't want to become one. She lives in a rental herself and considers that a professional asset.
Articles by Jill Stradley
How to Read a Lease Agreement Before You Sign
Most people spend more time reading the terms and conditions on a streaming service than they do reading a lease agreement. That is a problem, because a lease is a legally binding contract worth thousands of dollars that governs where you live for the next year or more. Every clause you skip is something you have already agreed to...
How a Sublease Agreement Protects Both the Original Tenant and the Subtenant
Subleasing happens for all kinds of reasons. A tenant takes a job in another city for six months, a student goes home for the summer, or someone needs to break a lease early without losing it entirely. Whatever the situation, subleasing puts three parties in a relationship that most people do not fully think through before it starts. A written sublease agreement is what keeps that relationship from becoming a problem...
States With the Strictest Landlord-Tenant Laws (And What That Means for Your Lease)
Landlord-tenant law is not the same from state to state. In some places, a landlord can raise rent with 30 days notice and no cap on the increase. In others, the law dictates exactly how much rent can go up, what reasons are required to end a tenancy, what disclosures must appear in the lease, and what happens if the landlord gets any of it wrong. If you rent in one of the states below, your lease agreement needs to...
California Lease Agreement Requirements: What Landlords Must Include
California has some of the most detailed landlord-tenant laws in the country, and that complexity flows directly into the lease agreement. A generic lease template will not cut it here. California landlords are required by law to include specific clauses, disclosures, and terms that go well beyond what most other states mandate. Miss something and you could be looking at fines...