Lease Guides
17 articles in this category
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.
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.
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.
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...
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.
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...
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.
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...
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.