Created by the legal editors at Nolo – the Residential Lease is easy to understand, fair, and up to date.
Customizable for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. (For Chicago-area leases, please see LF310-CHI, Residential Lease-Chicago.)
The lease that you and your tenant sign forms the contractual basis of your relationship. Taken together with the laws of your state—and, in a few areas, local and federal laws—it sets out almost all the legal (and practical) rules you and your tenant must follow—such as how long the tenant can occupy your property, the amount of the rent and deposit, and your (and your tenants’) repair and maintenance responsibilities.
Be sure you understand the difference between a lease and a rental agreement before using this product. A lease is a contract that obligates both the landlord and the tenant for a set period of time, usually a year. With a lease, you can’t raise the rent or change other terms of the tenancy until the lease runs out, unless the lease itself allows future changes, or the tenant agrees in writing. In addition, landlords can’t ask a tenant to move out, or prevail in an eviction lawsuit, unless the tenant fails to pay the rent or violates another significant term of the lease or the law, such as by selling drugs on the property.
A rental agreement establishes a tenancy for a short period of time. They are often called month-to-month tenancies, although the rental period can be longer or shorter. A month-to-month tenancy automatically renews each month unless the landlord or tenant terminates it, with proper notice.
Month-to-month tenancies give landlords more flexibility, because they can change a rental term (such as the rent) or end the tenancy with proper notice (30 days in many states). On the other hand, a lease obligates the tenant to the lease term, which diminishes tenant turnover.
This product is a lease; if you need a rental agreement, use Adams’ Month-to-Month Rental Agreement (LF255) instead.
This fixed-term Residential Lease includes:
- Disclosure of Information on Lead-Based Paint and/or Lead-Based Paint Hazards
- Landlord-Tenant Checklist
- State Rent Rules
- State Security Deposit Rules
- State Laws on Landlord’s Access to Rental Property
- State Required Landlord Disclosures
- Federal brochure “Protect Your Family From Lead In Your Home
The lease form in this download is easy to use—simply follow the clause-by-clause instructions, and refer, when asked, to the state law charts included. These charts tell you whether your state law has a rule governing a particular aspect of the lease, such as the amount of notice you must give tenants before entering the rental property. Giving tenants this type of information right in the lease helps you get your tenancy off to a good start, by educating tenants of their rights and responsibilities imposed by state law.
Fill out your lease directly on your computer using the PDF file or RTF file included in this purchase.
