How-To
8 articles in this category
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.
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.
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.
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.
Renting Month-to-Month After a Divorce: What Both Sides Need in Writing
Divorce reshapes living situations fast. One person stays, one person leaves, or both leave and neither wants to be locked into a long-term lease while the rest of their life is still being sorted out. Month-to-month rentals become the practical choice for a lot of people going through a divorce, either because they need flexibility while a settlement is finalized, because they are waiting to see where they end up financially, or because they are not ready to commit to anything longer than 30 days out...
How to Tell If a Late Fee Violates State Law
Late fees are one of the most disputed line items in any tenancy. Tenants think they are being overcharged. Landlords think they are within their rights. Both sides are often guessing, because state law on late fees is specific, varies widely, and is rarely spelled out clearly in the lease itself...
Landlord Insurance vs. Renters Insurance: Who Covers What When Something Goes Wrong?
When something goes wrong at a rental property, the first question both the landlord and the tenant ask is usually the same one: whose insurance covers this? A pipe bursts and floods the unit. A tenant's guest slips on an icy walkway. A fire destroys the tenant's belongings. The answers are not always what either side expects, and the gaps between the two policies is where people get hurt financially...
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...