Landlord and Tenant Agreements: Understanding the Forms

Many people today are making the choice to rent homes or apartments instead of actually buying them. Unfortunately for many renters, they do not actually understand much of the paperwork they have to fill out before they can rent a home or apartment. There are various forms that are used in a landlord and tenant agreement, and it is important that both parties signing these forms have a good understanding of them. Whether you are a new landlord or investor getting ready to rent out your property, or you are a tenant renting your first home, apartment, or office space, familiarity with these forms can be very helpful.

Rental Application One of the most important forms for both the landlord and the tenant is the rental application. This application is used so landlords can screen their applicants and decide whether or not to rent the property to them. One of the things included on this form is authorization for the landlord to do a credit check on the prospective tenant. Landlords always have to have permission to run a credit check before doing so. Usually, there is an application fee associated with the rental application as well to cover the cost of verifying information and running a credit check. Personal information is also asked for on a rental application such as your name, age, birth date, drivers license number, social security number, current address, previous addresses, and your employment information. Some forms may also ask about your debt, bank accounts, references, whether you own pets, and if you smoke as well.

Apartment Rules and Regulations Another important form that is often used between landlords and tenants is the apartment rules and regulations forms. These forms usually have a list of rules and regulations that tenants are expected to follow while they are renting property from the landlord. Most landlords ask that tenants sign a form saying that they have read and understand these rules and that they agree to abide by them. This allows landlords to option to instantly terminate a lease with someone who breaks the rules on these forms. Tenants need to be sure that they read these rules carefully and that they have a copy for reference purposes.

Disclosure Forms Landlords are required to give out disclosure forms for known things, such as lead paint, that is in their rental properties. In the case of lead paint, usually these forms have to be used if your property dates back before 1978. It is important that you give tenants these disclosure forms before they sign the lease, or you may end up being sued later. There are also booklets about the hazards of lead paint that can be given to tenants so they know what they are dealing with.

Inventory Forms Another type of form that you may find used between landlords and their tenants is an inventory form. When landlords rent out their properties, many times they rent them with furniture or appliances included with the property. The landlord of course wants to make sure that all of the items that are originally with the property are still there when the tenant leaves. For this reason, an inventory form is used to list the various items already on the property and their condition as well. This allows landlords to be aware of what items should still be on the property when the lease is up. Inventory forms are very helpful to both the landlord and the tenant, since this will save the landlord from losing items they own and it will save the tenant from being accused of taking something that was never there in the first place. After the inventory forms have been filled out, both the tenant and the landlord should sign them after reviewing the forms together. Tenants should always beware of signing these forms if they have not actually seen the property themselves to make sure that all items on the forms are really there.

Eviction Notice Another form that landlords may find themselves using occasionally and that every tenant hates to think about is the eviction notice. These forms are very important because landlords can never just throw their tenants out of the property without all kinds of negative legal ramifications. In order for an eviction to be legal, the landlord must go through the proper proceedings, starting out with an eviction notice. An eviction notice can be served for not paying the rent, for breaking one of the rules, or any number of other reasons. If the tenant fixes the problems addressed in the notice, then they can continue to live there, but if not, then the landlord has grounds to pursue the eviction. When tenants do not fulfill the requirements asked of them, then the landlord can go to court and file an eviction action against the tenant. It is also important to note that tenants can fight these eviction actions and have a specific amount of time to state their case as well.

Landlords who are leasing out properties want to make sure that they are protecting their interests, and to do so, the use of various forms will be very important. Tenants also want to be sure that they go into a lease with all the information they need, and the forms filled out and given to them are essential as well. By understanding and using these various forms between tenants and landlords, both parties can ensure that they are adequately protected

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