Lease Guides
9 articles in this category
When Rentals to a Friend Go Bad: The Legal Mess No Lease Creates
Renting to a friend starts the same way every time. The arrangement feels obvious. You trust them. They need a place. You have a unit. Nobody wants to make it weird with paperwork. So you skip the lease, shake hands, and move forward on the assumption that everything will work out because you know each other...
Renting Out a Basement Apartment: What the Lease Needs to Cover
Renting out a basement apartment is one of the more practical ways to generate rental income from a property you already own. The unit is attached to your home, the setup costs are usually lower than a standalone rental, and the income can meaningfully offset a mortgage. It also comes with complications that a standard above-grade rental does not have, and most of those complications trace back to one thing: a lease that was not specific enough about the situation...
Renting to Family or Friends: Why You Still Need a Written Lease
Renting to someone you know feels different from renting to a stranger. There is an existing relationship, a level of trust, and usually an assumption that things will work out because they always have between you. That assumption is exactly what makes informal arrangements between family members and friends one of the most reliably expensive rental mistakes a landlord can make...
What Happens When an Annual Lease Expires and Nobody Signs a New One?
A lease end date comes and goes. The tenant does not bring up a new lease. The landlord does not send one over. Rent hits the account on the first and nobody says anything. This is one of the most common situations in residential rentals and most people on both sides have no idea what it means legally until something goes wrong.
Why a Formal Lease Agreement Matters and What to Look for Before You Sign
Here is why a formal written lease matters and what you actually need to look at before you put your name on it...
Georgia Lease Agreement: What Landlords and Renters Need to Know
Georgia has a reputation as one of the more landlord-friendly states in the country, and that reputation is mostly earned. There is no statewide rent control, no mandatory just cause requirement for evictions, and local governments are barred by state law from enacting their own rent control ordinances. But Georgia is not a free-for-all. A series of significant updates took effect in 2024 and 2025 that changed some of the rules landlords and tenants have operated under for years. If you are renting in Georgia, either side of the lease, here is what the law actually requires....
What Happens If You Rent Without a Lease Agreement?
Some rental arrangements start without a written lease. A landlord lets a friend move in on a handshake deal. A lease expires and neither party bothers to renew it. A tenant keeps paying rent month after month after the original agreement ends. These situations are more common than most people realize, and they come with real legal consequences for both sides...
Red Flags in a Lease Agreement Every Renter Should Know
Most renters sign a lease in a hurry. You found a place you like, you want to lock it in before someone else does, and the paperwork feels like a formality standing between you and the keys. That mindset is exactly how people end up stuck in bad rental situations for a year or more...
Security Deposit Rules by State: What Landlords Can and Can't Keep
Security deposits are one of the most argued topics in landlord-tenant law. Tenants want their money back. Landlords want protection for damages. And somewhere in between, state law draws the line. The problem is that line looks different depending on where the rental property sits...