Lease Guides
39 articles in this category
Mobile home park lot leases: how they differ from an apartment lease
When you own the home but rent the land, a separate set of state rules often applies. Here is how lot leases handle rent increases, evictions, park rules, sales in place, and the homeowner's death.
Week-to-week tenancies: How much notice to end one
Paying rent weekly with nothing signed still creates a real tenancy. Here is the notice each side owes, why timing matters, and how to end it cleanly.
Parking, vehicles, and towing rules in a lease
Assigned spaces, guest parking, inoperable cars, and the signage many states require before a tow. What the lease should say so a tow does not turn into a dispute.
Repair and deduct: When a tenant can legally fix it and subtract the cost
When a landlord ignores an urgent repair, the repair-and-deduct remedy lets a tenant fix it and subtract the cost. Here are the steps, the caps, and the risks.
Co-signer vs guarantor vs co-tenant: Who is actually on the hook
Co-signer, guarantor, and co-tenant are not interchangeable. Learn who can live in the unit, who owes the rent, and how each obligation actually ends.
Who pays for what: utilities, repairs, and services in a rental
An allocation reference for leases: which utilities and services belong to each side, where the repair line falls, and the one duty a lease cannot move.
Landlord retaliation: what counts, and how the law protects you
A landlord who raises rent, cuts services, or starts an eviction because a tenant complained or asserted a right is retaliating. Here are the protected activities, the presumption windows, and the remedies.
Which lease terms the law overrides, even if you signed them
A signature does not make every clause valid. Learn which common lease terms courts refuse to enforce and why signing them does not waive your rights.
How much notice a landlord must give before entering, by state
A 50-state map of the statutory entry-notice period: 18 states set 24 hours, eight states and D.C. set 48 hours, Wisconsin sets 12 hours, and 23 states name no number at all.
What happens to your security deposit when the landlord dies
A landlord's death does not turn your deposit into estate money. Here is where it goes, what the executor owes you, and how to claim it if it vanishes.
Can a landlord keep prepaid rent when a tenant leaves early?
Prepaid rent is not a forfeitable deposit. What happens to advance rent when a tenant breaks the lease, and how the duty to re-rent limits what a landlord keeps.
Can a landlord refuse to renew your lease?
In most states a landlord may decline to renew a lease for any reason or none. Fair housing law, retaliation statutes, and a handful of just cause jurisdictions draw the lines.